Chapter Four: Let’s Eat!

The Thirsty Throat’s Seafood Soup

I was so excited to try to make a seafood soup worthy of the Thirsty Throat and, of course, of the delighted Eliana. What would a dish made by Tieflings with a connection to Calimshan be like? Should that particular cultural heritage evoke the flavors of the Middle East? The East Mediterranean? North Africa? Given the Faerunian melting pot that is Waterdeep, I thought that a Creole-style recipe would be most appropriate. And I think that there is no more delicious Creole cuisine than that of Mauritius. 

This little island, floating like a blue-green jewel in the Indian Ocean, has been influenced by French, Indian, and Chinese cuisines. It is difficult to think of a more heavenly combination than that. I decided to adapt Rougaille, a tomato-based, spice-rich sauce that is used heavily in many Mauritian dishes, into soup form.

I first tasted Rougaille as a small girl. My family moved from Poland to Zimbabwe in 1985 when I was five years old, leaving behind a crushing Communist regime for a newly-independent, more laissez-faire-Socialist country in the hopes of finding a better life. Vacationing on a warm tropical beach was not something normal, un-connected to Party, people did in Iron Curtain Poland. Not unless you count the heavily polluted North Baltic coast as a delightful holiday locale (that was too judgmental – now I feel bad. The Polish seaside is lovely with evergreen trees growing down to sandy beaches and super-fresh fish, And you can find raw amber on the beaches).

We were captivated by the beauty of the Zimbabwean bush and visited national parks frequently. Our early forays into camping involved surrounding our tent with a layer of plastic sheeting so that we would have early warning if a snake tried to come in –  the endless rustling of harmless little frogs moving about kept us awake much of the night – and evacuating in panic when an elephant approached, leaving luggage and booby-trapped tent behind, only to discover the elephant was a stolid and constant visitor to the campsite, well-known by all. Ah, memories :)…

Still, our new home was landlocked and we missed the sea. So, as soon as we could manage it, we went to Mauritius: a tropical island a short trip from Zimbabwe. We rented a little villa on the beach. We arrived tired, after dark. Even so, we immediately went out to the see the ocean. Calmed by the reef encircling this part of the island, the waves lapped peacefully at the shore. Our toes were sugared with pristine sand. And, with the full moon glowing golden above, we saw a night-time rainbow. A Moonbow! I think that, at that moment, all of our family thought we had come to paradise.

The food only reinforced the blissful impression. Our host had provided a meal to welcome us on our late arrival. A fish cooked in Rougaille sauce. I still remember how stunned I was by that meal. I had no idea what I was eating except that it was delicious and unlike anything that I had ever tried before. I was a total Eliana Cooper about it. Now I realize that it was the wild and unexpected blend of spices that was so memorable: thyme and garlic mixed with ginger, chilies, cumin, curry leaves, and cilantro. And all simmered in a rich tomato-based sauce. So, so good! 

For this soup, I decided to make a seafood stock based on Bobby Flay’s Bouillabaisse recipe. Because I am a sucker for punishment. Just kidding: because I am very impressed by how that man layers flavors (recipe is available on http://www.foodnetwork.com.) I changed the spice profile a little, to match what I was going for in the final soup. I got the idea to add Israeli couscous to the dish from a recipe I liked on www.abowlofsugar.com for Yakhnit Samak (Arabian Fish Stew with lemon, saffron, and hot pepper rouillle). It adds bulk in a delightfully chewy, nutty fashion. And the little couscous pearls look like corn which is confusing in a fun way. I also adapted the hot pepper rouille from that same recipe, making it more spice-forward and adding some funk with preserved lemon. I hope that you like this version of our party’s pre-adventure supper!

Ingredients:

For the Rouille:

225g/1/2lb potatoes – roughly 2 medium or 3 small potatoes – washed, peeled, and roughly chopped

350ml/1.5 cup water

4 cloves garlic, peeled and sliced

3 green onions, washed and trimmed

3-4 sprigs fresh thyme

1 pinch saffron

5g/1tsp ground cumin

5g/1tsp Harissa spice powder

2.5g/1/2 tsp salt

2.5g/1/2 tsp freshly ground pepper

15g/1tblsp tomato paste

85g/3oz Calabrian roast chilies, chopped

15g/1tblsp preserved lemon rind, chopped

Juice of 1/2 lemon

For the Seafood Stock:

60ml/1/4 cup canola oil

 Shrimp shells, tails, and heads from 650g/1.5lb, rinsed well

500g/1lb fish trimmings (head, skin, bones) rinsed well

45g/3tblsp tomato paste

1 large yellow onion, peeled and coarsely chopped

1 shallot, peeled and coarsely chopped

2 small carrots, coarsely chopped

3 medium stalks celery, coarsely chopped

1 small head fennel, halved and thinly sliced

8 cloves garlic, peeled and roughly chopped

1/2 cup white wine

1-2 bay leaves

2-3 sprigs fresh thyme

2.5g/1/2 tsp black peppercorns

10g/2tsp kosher salt

2/5g/1.2 tsp smoked paprika

Pinch of saffron

Pinch of Calabrian chile flakes or red pepper flakes

15g/1tblsp ground cumin

5g/1tsp Harissa spice powder

30ml/2tblsp fish sauce

2.5L/10 cups water

For the Soup:

2L/8.5 cups seafood stock

4 cups cooked Israeli couscous, prepared according to package directions (basically boil salted water in a pot, ratio of 2.5 water: 1 couscous, add the couscous, and cook until tender, 5-7 minutes, drain and toss with olive oil to prevent sticking)

500g/1lb white fish fillets (cod, halibut, flounder, cat fish), tossed in seasoned flour (I use roughly 120g/1cup flour with 5g/1tsp each of salt, MSG, onion powder, garlic powder, smoked paprika, cumin powder, and curry powder) and fried in canola oil until golden brown and crisp

650g/1.5lb shrimp, fried in browned garlic butter (add 3 cloves crushed garlic to a pan with 45g/3tblsp butter and a splash of canola oil, remove garlic when golden brown, add shrimp, season with salt, fry until pink and tender)

250g/1/2lb assorted seafood like sliced calamari, baby octopus, mussels, clams

1 bunch chives, finely chopped

1 batch Rouille sauce.

Method:

For the Rouille:

1. Put the water in a small saucepan and add potatoes, garlic, herbs, spices, salt, pepper, and tomato paste. Cover, bring to a boil, and then simmer, uncovered, for 15-25 minutes until the potatoes are falling-apart tender and most of the water has boiled off. Take off the heat and allow to cool
2. Add the chopped Calabrian chilies, preserved lemon, and lemon juice to a blender. 
3. Add the cooled potato mixture and blend everything together until smooth. Add a splash of water if needed to smooth things out or if your blender is becoming irate at the thickness of the sauce.
4. Place in a bowl and set aside to use as needed. May be made 1-3 days ahead; it stores well in the refrigerator.

For the Stock:

1. Heat the oil in a large stock pot until nearly smoking. Add the shrimp shells and fish trimmings and sauté until fragrant.
2. Add tomato paste and stir rapidly, allowing the tomato paste to cook and caramelize down.
3. Add the chopped vegetables and stir. Cook until the onion is starting to become glassy and you can smell the celery, fennel, and garlic over the strong aroma of the shrimp.
4. Deglaze the pan with white wine, making sure to scrape up all of the browned bits that may be crusted on the bottom. Allow the wine to bubble and the strong alcohol aroma to cook off. 
5. Add herbs, spices, salt, pepper, and fish sauce and stir once more. Allow to cook for another 1-2 minutes.
6. Add the water, cover the pot, and bring to a boil. Once boiling, crack the lid a little and allow to simmer gently for 45 minutes. 
7. Strain and reserve the stock for later use. Discard the shrimp shells, fish head, and vegetables. They have given their all.

For the Soup:

1. Bring the stock to a simmer and add the cooked couscous. Allow to simmer for 5 minutes.
2. Add the seafood mix and cook for another 1-3 minutes.
3. Set aside several prawns for decorations, and add the remaining fried prawns and browned butter to the soup. Mix well.
4. Ladle soup into bowls, and place 3-4 pieces of fried fish and 2-3 shell-on shrimp into each bowl. Add a dollop of rouille sauce and top with chopped chives. Serve warm.

Notes: This is a versatile soup, meant to be made with whatever seafood and/or fish you have available. Store bought fish stock or clam juice is perfectly fine. 

I usually buy frozen shrimp – shell on but easy-peel (already sliced down the back and deveined). I think that they have a more brawny-prawny flavor than the peeled ones. And I like to have the option of cooking them with the peel on (on the grill – yum!). If I want them shell-less, it does not take long to peel these and I have the added treasure of the shells, which I freeze, for future shrimp stock base. Potent freezer secret weapon for the win! It is difficult to find head-on shrimp here but I usually have luck at a nearby Asian grocery store (H-mart – also THE source fo $2 fish heads). I asked our dear GM to pick some up for this occasion because the heads really do add great flavor and visual oomph. But do not feel you have to source these to make a delicious seafood soup! They do require a little more work: make sure to trim the painfully sharp spikes around the face and the nasty little tail thorn bit: hurt them before they hurt you Adventurer! And then use scissors to snip up the length of the shell along the back. This exposes the vein which can be easily pried up with the tip of a paring knife. Remove the vein, rinse, and you are all set.

I used frozen flounder fillets for this recipe. Again, any fish that you prefer and can source is fine. You can just slice these into bite-sizes pieces and gently lower into the bubbling broth for 2-3 minutes. But I like to fry them because, while adding a little more work and some more pans to wash, it also boosts flavor and color. Plus the flour coating on the fish thickens the soup.

I use a little tray of frozen, mixed seafood here. The kind that I think is intended for seafood paella or pizza recipes. But please feel free to just add mussels or calamari, or scallops. Again, whatever you prefer.