Seafood soup with mussels

Method

1. 1

   Prepare the vegetables and finishing ingredients

   Wash 300 g tomato, 80 g carrot and 10 g parsley. Peel the carrot and 120 g onion; dice both into pieces about 5 mm across. Chop the tomato into small pieces and mince 10 g garlic. Chop the parsley separately and squeeze and weigh 20 g lemon juice. Reserve 100 ml from the 1200 ml water for the mussels; the other 1100 ml goes into the soup. Prepare a large soup pot, a second lidded pot and a fine sieve lined with clean muslin.

   
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   Seafood soup with mussels: Prepare the vegetables and finishing ingredients

2. 2

   Inspect the mussels and cut the fish

   Buy the 1000 g live shell-on mussels from an approved supplier and retain their origin information. Discard cracked shells and open mussels that do not close when gently tapped. Scrub under cold running water and remove the beards just before cooking; do not leave them soaking in fresh water. Cut 300 g fresh cod into roughly 3 cm cubes and check for bones. Use 300 g shrimp already peeled and deveined. Keep the seafood separate from the vegetables at 4 °C or below until needed. Wash hands, board and knife after touching raw seafood; set aside clean bowls and utensils for cooked food.

   
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   Seafood soup with mussels: Inspect the mussels and cut the fish

3. 3

   Soften the onion and carrot

   Heat 20 g olive oil in the large pot over medium heat. Add the onion and carrot and stir for about 6 minutes, until the onion softens and the carrot starts to soften. Stir in the garlic for another 1 minute without letting it brown too much. If the vegetables stick, reduce the heat and add a spoonful taken from the planned 1100 ml water rather than increasing the total water.

   
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   Seafood soup with mussels: Soften the onion and carrot

4. 4

   Cook the tomato and make the broth

   Add the tomato and cook over medium heat for about 5 minutes, stirring, until it partly breaks down. Pour in the remaining 1100 ml water and add 2 bay leaves and 4 g salt. Bring to a gentle simmer and cook for about 15 minutes with the lid slightly ajar, until the diced carrot is tender. Keep fluid broth around the vegetables; regulate the heat so that the soup does not reduce to a sauce.

   
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   Seafood soup with mussels: Cook the tomato and make the broth

5. 5

   Steam the mussels and strain their liquid

   While the soup base simmers, heat the reserved 100 ml water in the second pot. Add the inspected mussels, cover and cook for about 5–7 minutes, carefully shaking the pot once. Remove opened mussels with a clean utensil and keep them in a clean covered bowl while you finish. Discard any that remain closed; do not force their shells open. Strain the cooking liquid through a fine sieve lined with clean muslin into the soup, without pressing sediment through or pouring in sandy residue. Shells and discarded mussels are excluded from the edible weight used for nutrition.

   
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   Seafood soup with mussels: Steam the mussels and strain their liquid

6. 6

   Cook the cod, then the shrimp

   Keep the broth at a gentle simmer and add the cod cubes. Cook for about 3–5 minutes, then add the shrimp and cook for a further 2–3 minutes, gently moving the pot so the fish does not break up. Use a fine-probe thermometer to check that the thickest pieces of cod and shrimp reach at least 63 °C. Fish should be opaque and separate easily, and shrimp firm and opaque. Continue cooking and recheck if needed: temperature and doneness take precedence over these approximate times. Wash utensils that have touched raw seafood before using them in the soup.

   
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   Seafood soup with mussels: Cook the cod, then the shrimp

7. 7

   Return the mussels and finish the soup

   Return only opened mussels to the pot and simmer for approximately 1 minute to heat everything through without prolonged cooking. Remove the 2 bay leaves with a clean utensil. Turn off the heat, add 20 g lemon juice and 10 g chopped parsley and stir gently. Taste with a clean spoon. The recipe and estimate include the 4 g salt already added; adding more changes the sodium estimate. Check that no broken shells or closed mussels remain in the pot.

   
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   Seafood soup with mussels: Return the mussels and finish the soup

8. 8

   Divide into four portions and serve

   Divide the broth, vegetables, cod, shrimp and mussels among 4 bowls and serve immediately. Leave some open shells visible and explain that the shells are not edible; never add a closed mussel as decoration. Starting frozen requires additional refrigerator thawing, roughly overnight for 8–12 hours or longer if the package requires; wait until fully thawed. Never thaw on the countertop.

   
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   Seafood soup with mussels: Divide into four portions and serve

The step photos are illustrative.