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By Root 1063 0

from elsewhere, and sent where it is needed. I just hope that we shall have the sense to hang on to the old cures as well and improve them. Even if curing is destined to become a luxurious choice, I hope people will cling on to it because they like the tastes it can produce. Tastes which can be finer than they ever have been, because people are no longer dependent on curing for survival.

FISH SOUPS AND STEWS

There are many recipes which contain a mixture of fish and this section caters for them. Other soups, stews and chowders which contain one main fish will be found under the relevant section, i.e. Breton crab soup, Sedgmoor eel stew or Clam chowder.

FISH SOUPS

FISHERMAN’S SOUP (Kakavia)

This is the old soup of romantic association, and still a reality for some fishermen – a soup cooked over the fire on shore or in a boat, in the three-legged pot known as a kakavi. The fish used will depend on what have been caught. Greeks claim that Kakavia is the origin of Bouillabaisse, taken by Ionian Greeks in ancient time when they set off to colonize the place now known as Marseilles.

Enough of the same types of Greek fish can be bought in England to make a reasonable showing – red and grey mullet, snapper, bream, whiting, and John Dory. The problem comes when you try to get hold of small live lobsters and live Mediterranean prawns. You may have to be content with buying frozen ones or substituting mussels and cooked prawns, whose shells at least can be added to the basic stock.

When you choose the fish, allow extra weight to compensate for any mussels used as their shells are so heavy. Ask the fishmonger to give you bones and heads left over from filleting. When you get home, divide up the fish according to the time they take to cook, putting them on separate plates as you prepare them. Add their trimmings to the trimmings you already have.

Serves 6–8

fish trimmings, well washed

250 g (8 oz) sliced onion

125 ml (4 fl oz) olive oil

2 bay leaves

2 good sprigs parsley

½ teaspoon rigani or dried thyme

250–500 g (½–1 lb) tomatoes, peeled (optional)

1 level teaspoon peppercorns

salt

2 litres (3½ pt) water

2 kg (4 lb) mixed fish and shellfish, cleaned

lemon juice

Put the fish trimmings, onion, oil, herbs, tomatoes, peppercorns and a good pinch of salt into a large pan. Add the water, bring to the boil and cook steadily, uncovered, for 45 minutes. Sieve into a clean pan so that you now have a thick soup base.

Bring to simmering point and add the fish in batches – the thickest, firmest pieces first, together with the lobster if using, and ending up with mussels and cooked prawns, which only require a minute or two. Correct the seasoning with salt and lemon juice. Serve with bread or croûtons.

MATELOTE NORMANDE

As you would expect in a Matelote from Normandy, dry cider is substituted for red wine, and Calvados (their famous apple brandy) for eau de vie. Whisky is a possible alternative to Calvados. The fish, too, are typical of the area; the same fish that we can buy in Britain.

Serves 6

1 kg (2 lb) fish (including 250 g/8 oz conger eel, and a mixture of plaice, dabs, whiting and gurnard)

90 g (3 oz) butter

3–4 tablespoons Calvados

300 ml (10 fl oz) dry cider

liquor from mussels

300 ml (10 fl oz) fish or light meat stock

salt, pepper, chervil

beurre manié* – 1 tablespoon each butter and flour

125 ml (4 fl oz) double cream

250 g (8 oz) mushrooms, lightly fried

1¼ litres (2 pt) mussels, opened

croûtons of bread fried in butter

Clean and cut up the fish. Cook in butter until the pieces are very lightly coloured. Pour over the warmed Calvados, set it alight, and stir the fish about in the flames. Add cider, mussel liquor and stock. Season with salt and pepper, and add some chopped chervil. Simmer until the fish is just cooked. Add the beurre manié in small knobs to thicken the cooking liquor. Pour in the cream. The sauce should not boil, but should thicken gradually over a moderate heat.