Mediterranean Seafood Soup

Ingredients

• 400 g large shrimp (ready to cook, deveined, shell on)
• 2 carrots
• 3 Garlic cloves
• 3 tbsp olive oil
• 2 tbsp tomato paste (30 g)
• 1 tsp Cayenne pepper
• 1 tsp cumin seeds
• 1 tbsp Apple cider vinegar
• 800 ml chicken broth
• 200 g heavy cream
• 300 g king crab meat (canned or jarred)
• 350 g baby octopus
• 600 g mussels
• 1 tbsp cornstarch (10 g)
• Salt
• 2 sprigs Basil

Instructions

1. 1.

   Rinse and peel the shrimp, keeping the shells. Peel and dice the carrots. Peel and mince the garlic. Heat oil in a pot. Toast the shrimp shells for 5 minutes over medium heat. Add carrots, garlic, and tomato paste; sauté for 3 minutes. Sprinkle with cayenne pepper and cumin, then deglaze with vinegar. Pour in broth and cream, simmer gently for 15 minutes.

2. 2.

   Meanwhile, drain the crab meat. Clean the octopus by removing the ink sac and cleaning it thoroughly. Wash and clean the mussels; discard any that do not close when lightly pressed; keep only fully closed ones.

3. 3.

   Dissolve the cornstarch in cold water. Strain the soup through a fine sieve back into the pot, season with salt, add the dissolved starch, and bring to a boil. Rinse the basil, pat dry, and slice into strips. Add all seafood to the simmering soup, cover, and cook for 4 minutes over low heat until done. Discard any mussels that remain open. Garnish the Mediterranean seafood soup with basil strips.