ZUPPA-DOOPER!

A quick shellfish and potato soup for dinner – wouldn’t that be zuppa?

A few prawns, a fillet of fish, some mussels or clams. A can of tomatoes, some flavour bombs (chilli, capers) and a couple of spuds. It’s that easy to throw together a super-duper zuppa.

Zuppa (pronounced zoop-ah, or at my place, “ZOOP-ah!”), is a soupy Italian stew that is traditionally spooned into a bowl over a thick slice of grilled bread, which softens in the hot broth. My go-to girl for all things Italian, Ada Boni, has 15 zuppa recipes in Italian Regional Cooking (out of print), for chicken, vegetables, chickpeas, eel and salt cod, as well as a number of zuppa di pesce.

Not being big on soggy bread, I serve my toast half in and half out, a bit like me on the rungs by the side of the swimming pool, too wimpy to dive right in. Then I can just dunk as I like – in the zuppa, or in the pool.

This isn’t the hearty cacciucco of Livorno or the elegant brodetto of Venice, honed and formed by tradition, necessity and what the boats have brought in. It’s real enough, though, and as flexible as an Olympian gymnast.

You can make this just with fish, if that’s your fancy. Or just with mussels. But it’s fun to have a bit of variety, and odd things poking out (see note on calamari below). It’s great for using up those oddments of fish swimming around in the freezer, and sensational after a trip to the fish market on a Saturday.

A bowl of garlicky aioli is a good friend to have on the table.

I’ve added potatoes and zucchini to the zuppa, but if you don’t want the potatoes, swap them out for a can of white beans or chickpeas, or fregola. Or spaghetti! Whatever it takes to get you through your own Olympian endeavours of getting dinner on the table.

SHELLFISH AND POTATO ZUPPA

Serves 4

• 2 red-skinned potatoes, peeled, cut into bite-sized pieces

• 1 zucchini, halved lengthwise and thickly sliced

• 2 tbsp olive oil

• 2 celery stalks, finely sliced

• 3 garlic cloves, finely sliced

• 400 g canned tomatoes, chopped (or canned baby romas)

• 200 ml tomato passata

• 1 tbsp tomato paste

• 200 ml water or stock

• Fresh red chilli, sliced, or dried red chilli flakes

• 1 tsp capers, rinsed

• 2 bay leaves

• 1 tsp paprika

• sea salt and pepper

• 600 g fish fillets, cut into bite-sized pieces (flathead, snapper, etc)

• 8 tiger prawns, de-veined and peeled, tail-on

• 4 slices sourdough or thick dense bread

• 2 tbsp parsley leaves and extra virgin olive oil for serving

Cook the potatoes in simmering salted water for 15 minutes or until tender.

Add the zucchini for the last 2 minutes, then drain and set aside.

Heat the olive oil in a medium saucepan, and gently fry the celery and garlic until softened.

Add the canned tomatoes, passata, tomato paste, water, chilli, capers, bay leaves, paprika, salt and pepper and simmer, partly covered, for 20 minutes.

Add the cooked potato and zucchini, and heat through.

Add the fish and prawns to the broth, and simmer gently for 3  minutes until just cooked.

Toast or grill the sourdough, and brush with your best extra virgin olive oil.

Spoon the shellfish, potatoes, zucchini and soup into four warmed shallow soup bowls.

Tuck in the grilled sourdough, scatter with parsley and drizzle with extra virgin olive oil.

TO ADD CALAMARI

See here for cleaning and prepping tips, then slice the tube into thick rings and gently cook for 1 minute in the broth before serving. Tip: Keep the tentacles separate and flash-fry them in a small frypan with a touch of oil, and serve on top.

TO ADD MUSSELS

Put your hands together for my personal mussel cook, Terry Durack, in his guest spot this week. Go, Terry!

Terry: Cooking mussels is very satisfying. I love the noise they make as they clack around in the pan. I always soak them for an hour or so to reduce the chance of them carrying grit into the sauce. And I always cook them separately to the dish they will be served in, because it gives me more control over the cooking times, and I can take each one out just as it opens. Here’s a recipe that you can use any time.

Jill (interrupting): If you’re not Terry, or you’re me and he’s not looking, feel free to cook the mussels in the zuppa – bung them in, slam the lid on, and heat through until the mussels open. Just be aware that you might inadvertently over-cook the delicate fish while building up enough steam for the mussels to open.

Terry (trying to get last word): See, that’s why I cook them separately.

HOW TO COOK MUSSELS

• 1 kg fresh mussels

• 1 tbsp olive oil

• Any herb lying around  – parsley, basil, tarragon

• 100 ml white wine or water

Soak the mussels in a big pot of cold water for one hour (chuck out any with badly broken shells).

Drain the mussels, scrub well, and pull out the little beards.

Heat the oil and add the herbs, and the white wine or water and bring to the boil.

Add the mussels and cover tightly with a lid.

Cook for 1 minute, give the pan a big shake, lift the lid and, using tongs, remove any mussels that have opened, to a bowl.

Cover and cook another minute before removing more opened mussels.

Once all mussels are open, pour the resting juices from the bowl of cooked mussels back into the pan, and strain them into a small bowl.

Use this lovely mussel liquor in whatever you happen to be cooking.

Jill (actually getting the last word): Like my zuppa.

Guess which plate of empty shells is Terry’s and wihch is mine? Okay, stop guessing now.

Thanks for dropping by! And as always, thanks for your comments and suggestions. Special thanks to Terry for his recipe – and his mussels.

I would like to acknowledge the traditional owners of the lands and waters upon which I work, live, cook and play; the Gadigal people of the Eora Nation, and pay my respects to Elders past and present, and to the continuing strength and resilience of First Nations people, communities and cultures.