Recipe: Fish and Okra Soup

Recipe Source: Doeser, Linda.  Fish & Shellfish: Superb Ways with Seafood.  Anness Publishing, London, 2003 p. 33

 

By now you're all aware of my love for okra.  You've probably also already figured out my obsessive disorder with vegetables and my penchant for one-dish meals, which doesn't do much in the way of letting me stock up on content for this blog but does save on time, mess and presentation.  At first glance, then, this soup would appear to be my ideal recipe.  It also involved bananas.  I like bananas, and I like ingredients to be used in novel ways like fruit in main dishes.  The author of the original states that the recipe comes to us from Ghana, and I like food from new places.  This should have made it even better, right?  A treasure trove of Fearless goodness?  Unfortunately, I neglected to take something into account when planning my meals for the week.  While I love fruit, and I love ingredients used in novel ways, I dislike excessive sweetness in my savory dishes.  Intensely.  I therefore didn't like this dish at all.  I disliked it so much that my husband had to finish my serving and we had to go out afterward to supplement my diet. 

 

I don't think that I screwed anything up too royally, since my husband liked it so much he was more than happy to finish my share for me.  I also didn't make a huge number of changes.  The bananas that I had could have been greener.  They were greener when I bought them.  Unfortunately they just didn't stay that way!  I used olive oil instead of butter, because we both prefer olive oil to butter.  I also halved the amount, since oil goes a little further than butter for the job at hand.  I used canned tomatoes, because fresh were exorbitant and I didn't have any left.  I used frozen chopped okra - part of my reason for choosing this recipe was to help empty my freezer, and I find that it minimizes the risk of over-thickening the recipe.  I used smoked trout instead of haddock or cod, because I couldn't find smoked haddock or cod in the grocery and trout makes me think of my dad.  Besides, the smoked trout came from Maine, which is a lot more local than imported smoked mackerel or something like that.  Since the original recipe didn't specify which kind of chili to use, I used a habanero since allergies have been miserable around here and hot peppers really help me.  If you prefer, use a milder chili pepper such as serrano or jalapeno.  I guess you could omit the pepper altogether too, although I can't see why you would.  Finally, I used cilantro instead of parsley to top it off, because I prefer the flavor of cilantro and it was cheaper than parsley.  Okay, maybe I did make a lot of changes, but they were all relatively minor.  Again, my husband really liked this dish, so I guess that this is how it was supposed to taste.  If you like sweet dishes, you can have my share of this one.  Enjoy! 

 

Fish and Okra Soup (serves 4 as soup course, 2 as main course; approx. $6.80/serving as main course.)

2 green bananas

2 tablespoons olive oil

1 onion, finely chopped

1 14 oz can diced tomatoes

4 oz frozen chopped okra

8 oz smoked trout, cut into bite-sized pieces

3 3/4 cups fish broth

1 fresh habanero, chopped

1/4 bunch fresh cilantro, roughly chopped

Equipment:

• Medium saucepan
• Large pot

1. Slit the skins of the bananas, but do not peel.  Place them into the medium saucepan.
2. Add enough water to the saucepan to cover the bananas.  Bring them to a boil and cook until the bananas are tender.  This time will vary depending on how green your bananas really are!  When they are tender, remove them from the saucepan and allow to cool. 
3. Meanwhile, heat the olive oil in the larger pot and saute the onion until soft. 
4. Add the tomatoes and okra and gently cook for another 10 minutes or so.
5. Add the fish, broth and habanero to the pan.  Bring to a boil, then reduce the heat and simmer for around 20 minutes.  You'll know it's ready when the fish is tender and flaky. 
6. Peel the bananas and cut them into slices.  Add them into the soup and allow them to come up to the same temperature as the rest of the soup.  This will not take very long. 
7. Ladle the soup into bowls.  Sprinkle with the cilantro and serve.

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