Smoked Hake Fish Soup

Ingredients

• 2 onions
• 4 stalks celery
• 2 Garlic cloves
• 2 Tomatoes
• 3 tbsp olive oil
• 8 slices smoked hake
• 0.5 tsp cumin
• 1 tbsp Tomato Paste
• 2 tbsp lobster butter
• a pinch cayenne pepper
• 40 ml brandy
• 800 ml heavy cream
• 4 tbsp crème fraîche
• chopped chives (for garnish)

Instructions

1. 1.

   Peel and dice the onions, wash and chop the celery into small pieces. Peel and mince the garlic cloves, wash and roughly cube the tomatoes. Heat the olive oil in a large pot, sauté the onions, garlic, and celery for 2 minutes while stirring.

2. 2.

   Add 4 slices of hake, cumin, tomato paste, lobster butter, and cayenne pepper. Cook for another 2 minutes, constantly stirring. Deglaze with brandy and pour in the heavy cream. Simmer gently for about 10 minutes, then remove from heat and let rest for an additional 10 minutes. Strain through a fine sieve into a clean pot.

3. 3.

   Just before serving, reheat the soup and ladle it into four cups. Crown each cup with a spoonful of crème fraîche and top with the remaining hake sliced into strips as a garnish. Finish with chopped chives.