Fish Soup with Trout and Shellfish

The roughness of this dish matches the robust coastal landscape in Øygarden on the west coast of Norway.

INGREDIENTS:

Serves four people

Crab shells, lobster shells, Norway lobster, boiled shrimps (poached or smoked)

4-6 tablespoons olive oil

8 plum tomatoes or another sweet tomato, divided into two

2 tablespoons onion, finely chopped

3-4 cloves of garlic, finely chopped

2 tablespoons fennel, finely chopped

2 tablespoons fennel bust, finely chopped

1 tbsp finely chopped tarragon or rosemary

¼ cup coffee, ½ dl dark roasted

1 ½ quarts, 1 ½ l water

2 tablespoons apple vinegar or lemon juice.

Raw trout cut into fine slices

finely trimmed dried seaweed

PREPARATION:

To make a tasty base for this soup, we´ll fry the shellfish in a cast iron pot on high temperature. This way you also bring in a hint of sweetness to the dish. Put the pot on your garden grill or on the hot plate on maximum. Don´t put your nicest pot in work for making this soup, it can be a little stained in the process.

To give the stock a deeper color and taste, you can stir in a little bit of brewed coffee, preferably dark roasted.

You will make this soup in half an hour.

Do like this:

Use strong heat, and if you can put it over an open fire, you should use an iron pot which is thick and heavy.

Clean the Norway lobster, set aside the tail meat. Crush and crack the brown crab and shellfish shells, and take out every piece of meat inside, set aside and reintroduce it in the dish just before serving.

Put oil in a hot pot and directly put in all the shellfish shells. Let it fry vigorously for two minutes before putting tomatoes, onions and garlic in the pot, as well as herbs and coffee. Allow this to fry for two more minutes.

Pour in water in the pot and let it simmer for approx. 15 minutes. Strain pieces of shells and other hard material through a sieve.

Return the stock to the pot and reduce to the desired amount (one serving is about ¾ cup, 2 dl). Season with salt and some vinegar or lemon juice. Cut the fish and prepare the shellfish meat, as well as dried seaweed if your fish monger got it.

Distribute pieces of flesh and seaweed, pour over the fish stock and serve the soup right away.