Even if you've been fishing for three hours and haven't gotten anything except poison ivy and sunburn, you're still better off than the worm! #FishingStory
One of my top favorite things to do in summer is cooking over open fire on warm nights. There is something so magical about it! Starry nights, nightingales, good company... Had quite a bit of those this year as well. Also finally managed to find a big pot for cooking over open fire. Turned out it wasn't as easy as I thought it would be in the beginning. With many summer nights spent around the fire, the aim to turn it into a more involving social culinary experience proved to be so worth it!
Fish soup - salmon, shrimp and other goodies with all mandatory traditions - a sup of vodka and immersion of roasting charcoal.
It takes time to make good soup, especially in outdoor conditions. Everyone is involved in the process - someone is prepping fish and/or seafood, someone is doing vegetables and I guess one of the most important people is the one who makes sure the fire keeps going!
My Dad is top expert at that. He used a dried piece of log, cut one end of it - like a cross incision and lit it. Looked perfect when it started getting dark, but also ensured concentrated heat right underneath the pot. Once you get the fire going, fill the pot with water and start prepping everything else.
Fish soup - salmon, shrimp and other goodies with all mandatory traditions - a sup of vodka and immersion of roasting charcoal.
My Dad is top expert at that. He used a dried piece of log, cut one end of it - like a cross incision and lit it. Looked perfect when it started getting dark, but also ensured concentrated heat right underneath the pot. Once you get the fire going, fill the pot with water and start prepping everything else.
Ingredients:
* Heads of salmon
* Shrimp
* Carrots
* Onions
* Garlic
* Potatoes
* Chilly
* Herbs
* Smoked paprika
* Salt'n'pepper
* Olive oil
When it comes to quantities, I always go with intuition. For this "little pot" we used 3 salmon heads - and those were big, half 0.5 - 1 kilo of shrimp (shells off). Probably 4-6 large carrots and potatoes, 2 onions, 1 head of garlic. With the spices and herbs - taste as you go. When adding salt and especially spicy stuff - give the soup a few minutes before judging whether it needs more.
For better taste, fry salmon on a pan for a little bit. No need to cook it through - it will be boiling in the water for quite a bit, but frying it before adding to boiling water definitely adds more flavor.
Dice/chop/grate veggies and cook in a pan on a bit of olive oil until tender. Add to the soup. Add the spices, herbs and finely chopped chilly and let it simmer.
This is the best part until the soup's ready. Sit back and enjoy! It does take time to make it good, but if you want the soup to be clear- don't overcook too long and it should take time to get to the boiling point.
Traditionally fish soup requires five types of fish. Unfortunately (or not) for us this time, we only had two. But I wouldn't say the taste was far off perfect with salmon and shrimp. While the soup was cooking, we grilled the shrimp and added to the soup.
The finishing touches - immersion of a burning coal and a bit of vodka (50-100ml) gives it the scent of the wood burning fire, the kick and balances the salt. In other words - adds a bit of perfection!
Bon appétit!
