Saturday Soup 3 Fall 2007

Greetings from New Orleans. This is not a post about my visit here which is still in process, but it is my Saturday soup entry for the week.

I know I promised an "orange" soup this week, but there is no way I could pick any other recipe while in New Orleans than one for a gumbo! Next week it will be an orange soup, just in time for Hallowe'en. Herewith a fish gumbo.

Fish Gumbo with Shrimp

Makes 12 servings

Ingredients

1 1/2 cups chopped onion (1 large)
2 T. butter
2 carrots, shredded on medium grater
1 1/2 cups Clamato juice
6 cups chicken stock
10 oz. frozen sliced okra
20 oz. canned
whole plum tomatoes, chopped
1/2 cup white rice
2 tsp. dried basil
1/2 cup chopped fresh parsley
black pepper, to taste
few drops Tabasco or other hot sauce
1 1/2 pounds haddock, roughy or other firm fish, cut into 1" cubes
1 pound medium or large peeled shrimp

1) Saute onions and carrots in butter until they just begin to soften. Do not let them brown. Put sauteed vegetables into a large pot and add Clamato juice and 4 cups of chicken stock. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat to a simmer.

2) Add chopped plum tomatoes, okra, rice and basil. Simmer for 15 minutes.

3) Add chopped parsley, Tabasco and fish. Stir and remove from heat. If soup is too thick, add more chicken broth. Season lightly with pepper, if necessary.

4) Serve garnished with shrimp cut in half lengthwise to preserve their shape.

A brief personal word--I indicated the reason I am in New Orleans is to attend the meeting of a national advisory board I sit on--it is a disaster response group. While I am here, I learned this morning that the town where my sister and her husband live, Nappanee, Indiana, was hit and severely damaged by a tornado that touched down late Thursday night. My sister and her husband are fine, but many people lost their homes, and a good portion of the town's business was wiped out.