Spanish fish soup with Jerusalem artichokes and puy lentils
This is an amazingly feisty and deeply flavourful soup. The combination of tomatoes, eggs, mackerel and Jerusalem artichokes in this result in a 1+1=50 explosion of “umami” flavouring. Umami is a Japanese word for the 5th unique taste that humans can detect. After salty, sweet, sour and bitter, this 5th taste is a moreish savoury taste that the Japanese have known about since 1908, but those of us in West have only started talking seriously about since the mid 1980’s.
It may not look like much on first glance, but this soup packs both a flavour and nutritional punch to keep your heart and digestive systems healthy. It’s based around one of my favorite spices: smoked Spanish paprika as well as Jerusalem artichokes. This tuber is full of immune boosting prebiotics to help feed the good bacteria in your gut, as well as a good amount of vitamin C, fibre, and the B vitamin: niacin.
Since I first discovered smoky paprika about 10 years ago in a Spanish market, it’s been a staple in my cooking. Nowadays you can find it easily online or in large supermarkets, and the 2 types: smoked-sweet, or smoked-hot, are truly transformational flavourings. I like to use it anywhere you want a rich, savoury depth: casseroles and soups, like this one with a tomato base, are a particularly good pairing for it. It’s also amazing mixed with a little sea salt and sprinkled onto cooked nuts.
Jerusalem artichokes (see picture directly below) are knobbly little roots that look like like a cross between potatoes and ginger. They cook just like potatoes. You cut them into chunks, or coins in this case, and they start out all hard and starchy, but soften through cooking into the texture of a soft potato. You can also mash them just like potatoes if you wanted to try adding them to other dishes.
Spanish fish soup with Jerusalem artichokes and puy lentils
Ingredients
- 1 large red onion chopped
- 2 cloves garlic minced
- 1 cup jerusalem artichokes sliced into coin shapes
- 1 cup puy lentils rinsed
- 1/2 Tbsp smoked-hot paprika I use 1 Tbsp, but this creates a fiery soup, so use to taste!
- 6 cups stock fish or veggie
- 4 Tbsp tomato paste
- 1 cup cavolo nero kale chopped
- 1 cup parsley chopped
- Handful green olives
- 1 tin of mackerel
- 2 eggs optional, but wonderful on top!
Instructions
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Add a glurg of avocado or otherhealthy cooking oil for high-heat cooking to a pan and saute the onions, garlic and Jerusalem artichokes for a few minutes
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Add the rinsed lentils, paprika, and tomato paste. Stir for 1 minute
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Add the stock and simmer for 20 minutes
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Add cavolo nero, parsley, olives, mackerel and 2 whole eggs in their shells into the pot (if using) for about 4 minutes until the eggs have soft boiled (The yolks should be runny for optimal health benefits)
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Take eggs out of your soup and set aside. Ladle soup into bowls. Remove the shells from the eggs, cut them in half and place them on top of the soup and you’re ready to eat!
This is a very easy to make Spanish inspired tomato fish soup that you can customise depending on what you have on hand. Sometimes I add a bit of saffron soaked in lemon juice along with a few other seafoods to it, just to tip it over the edge into an almost paella like flavour, but mostly I enjoy the simple savoury goodness of this incredibly satisfying and quick to make soup. This is a winter favorite that I’m sure you’ll love.[/fusion_builder_column][/fusion_builder_row][/fusion_builder_container]
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