Mediterranean Fish Soup in Tomato Sauce with homemade tomato paste and homemade vegetable stock

👨‍🍳 Method

For the homemade tomato paste ✓ Homemade · or skip – back to store-bought

1. 1
   Wash the tomatoes, remove the cores and quarter each tomato.

   KnifeCutting board
2. 2
   Put the tomatoes, the salt and half of the olive oil in a wide pot, cover and cook over medium heat about 20 minutes, until the tomatoes soften and release their liquid.

   StoveWide, shallow pot
3. 3
   Pass the tomatoes and their liquid through a food mill or sieve and return the purée to the pot: the skins and seeds stay behind.

   Food millorFine sieve
4. 4
   Cook uncovered about an hour at a lively simmer, stirring now and then, until the purée reduces by half.

   StoveWooden spoon

   💡The paste burns easily as it dries: stir and scrape the bottom and edges, and once it is thick, don't walk away.
5. 5
   Preheat the oven to 110°C (230°F).

   Oven

   💡Put things in the oven only once it's reached temperature, after the heating light has gone off: an oven that hasn't reached temperature changes baking times, and the bake burns outside or stays underbaked.
6. 6
   Grease a wide baking dish with the rest of the olive oil and pour in the purée in a thin layer. Dry in the oven about 3 hours, stirring and scraping the edges every 30 minutes, until the paste is thick, sticky and brick red.

   OvenBaking sheetSilicone spatula
7. 7
   Let the paste cool.

   Jar

For the Tomato sauce

1. 8
   Heat the olive oil in a pot over medium heat.

   StovePot
2. 9
   Add the onion and fry 5–8 minutes, stirring now and then, until the onion is soft and translucent and starts to turn golden at the edges. If it browns too fast, lower the heat.

   Stove

   💡Add by cooking time: what needs long (onion, carrot, meat) goes in first, and what burns fast (garlic, dry spices) goes in last, only until fragrant.
3. 10
   Add the garlic and fry about 30 seconds to 1 minute, just until fragrant. Don't let the garlic brown.

   Stove

   💡Garlic burns quickly and turns bitter. Add it only after the onion has softened, over medium heat, and add the next ingredient as soon as it smells fragrant.
4. 11
   Add the pepper and fry about 3 minutes, stirring, until it softens.

   Stove
5. 12
   Put the onion, carrot, celery, parsley, garlic, bay leaves and thyme in a large pot with the cold water.

   Large pot

   💡Start with cold water: the vegetables release their flavor slowly as the water heats up.
6. 13
   Bring to a boil over high heat and skim off the foam.

   Stove
7. 14
   Turn down to medium-low heat and simmer uncovered 30–45 minutes.

   Stove

   💡A gentle simmer, not a boil: a hard boil dries the food out and clouds it, a slow simmer cooks it evenly.
8. 15
   Strain the stock through a fine sieve.

   Fine sieve
9. 16
   Add the tomato paste, cumin and paprika and stir about a minute, until fragrant.

   Stove

To assemble

1. 17
   Pour the wine into the sauce and cook 5 minutes, until the smell of alcohol cooks off.

   Stove
2. 18
   Pat the fish pieces dry with paper towels and place it in the sauce, skin side down, and spoon some of the sauce over it. Cover and cook over medium-low heat 8–10 minutes, until the fish flakes easily.

   StoveLid

   💡Pat the fish dry and don't overcook it: wet fish thins the sauce, and overcooked fish dries out and falls apart.
3. 19
   Turn off the heat and sprinkle the parsley over the top.
4. 20
   Serve hot with bread.