When all else fails and I don’t know what to cook, I make a soup with whatever I have handy. This is where this recipe has come from and it’s evolved over the years… Fish, stock and pasta with a few additions like garlic and chilli flakes can be such a nice soup and it’s so simple. Hearty Hot Cod Soup is one such example but this one has a lot going on including a hefty kick of chilli heat, but don’t worry – if you don’t care for the heat you can absolutely reduce it or eliminate it all together and this recipe will still be very tasty!
Typically I make soups like this with cod fillets or cod loin, but any white, flaky, bonelss fish will work. Something like haddock, hake, tilapia or sole would absolutely work in this recipe and be really delicious!
When it comes to the vegetables, I prefer them teeny tiny in this soup so I use a chopper attachment for a stick blender to chop them so small they’re almost mush, but you can chop them bigger if you like. Just keep in mind that the cooking times might take longer the bigger the vegetables are, so if you want it quick then chop things as small as possible.
I love tiny shells for soups mostly for the seaside vibe it implies, but I appreciate that they’re not always easy to find. Orzo is a perfect choice here or any of the tiny soup pastas you see on grocery store shelves.
Now I know some of you will be shaking your heads about me using cheese and fish together, but I promise – it works really well here! For me, Parmesan cheese is the exception to the no cheese with fish rule because it offers a melted cheese texture, but tastes more like a salty seasoning. If you’re really opposed to it, you can skip it and it won’t ruin the recipe, but I encourage you to try it if you’re up for it. Let’s get started!
Serves 4
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 50g unsalted butter
- 1 onion, very finely chopped
- 1 carrot, very finely chopped
- 1 celery stick, very finely chopped
- 4 cloves garlic, peeled & minced
- 1/4 teaspoon chilli flakes (optional)
- 1 teaspoon Cayenne pepper (optional or for milder, reduce to 1/2 or 1/4)
- Zest & juice of 1 lemon
- 250g cod fillets or loins
- 200ml white wine
- 800ml vegetable stock
- Salt & pepper
- 200g small soup pasta (such as tiny shells, orzo or stellette)
- Grated Parmesan cheese to serve
- Leaves from a few sprigs of thyme to serve
Method
- Heat the oil and butter together in a large pot that has a lid on medium heat until the butter has fully melted and it’s hot. Add the onions, carrots and celery and cook, stirring occasionally until softened. Once softened, add the garlic, chilli flakes and Cayenne pepper and continue to cook for another minute or two while stirring and then stir in the lemon zest.
- Pour in the white wine along with the lemon juice and add the fish to the pan. Increase the heat to medium-high and stir. The fish will start to break up and that’s ok – that’s what we want. Continue to let this bubble away for a few minutes until it reduces some and then pour in the vegetable stock. Season with a little salt & pepper and stir to combine. Bring this to a boil and once boiling, pop on the lid, reduce the heat to low and leave this to simmer for about 10 minutes.
- After the 10 minutes, add the pasta, increase the heat bring to the boil again. Once again, as soon as it’s boiling, reduce the heat to low, pop on the lid and cook it for about 8 minutes before testing the pasta. You want it to be a little al dente so cook it longer if needed and adjust the seasoning if needed as well.
- To serve, ladle the soup into bowls and sprinkle with thyme leaves and some grated Parmesan cheese. Serve piping hot.
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