Sopa De Marisco: An Easy to Make Seafood Soup

INGREDIENTS FOR SEAFOOD SOUP OR SOPA DE MARISCO
Soup stock for 4 servings
1 Package of frozen seafood
Herbs optional

EASY TO MAKE SEAFOOD SOUP
I'm no five star Michelin chef, but my husband and I have been able to survive feeding ourselves all these years because of our adequate foraging skills. Seafood soup is a simple soup to assemble and my version requires no fileting of fish, cleaning shellfish or even cutting up pieces of seafood.

WHY YOU SHOULD TRY TO MAKE HOMEMADE SEAFOOD SOUP
In the last few years, we had to trim restaurant meals from our household budget. Because we were both working, I relied on a lot of prepared food. Salads and pasta are common dinner fare. Popcorn and cereal are frequent meal replacements. Seafood soup is a wonderful basic soup to make because it is not something that you can typically purchase from a can. Infinitely rewarding and delicious, seafood soup works its culinary magic because it masquerades as something far more complicated. You can also serve it as "Sopa de Marisco" or seafood soup as a starter course for a dinner party. "Soap de Marisco" is Spanish for "soup of the sea" or seafood soup.

SEAFOOD SOUP SOUNDS COMPLICATED TO MAKE
The key to easy to prepare seafood soup is to use already prepared seafood stock and frozen seafood. I've always thought cooking with fresh seafood is the only way to go. But depending on where you buy your seafood, it's not always fresh. Sometimes when you buy seafood at the grocery store, it has been frozen then thawed. At other times when sitting at market seafood counters, while the bottom of the seafood may be chilled, the top of the fish or shellfish is exposed to the surrounding air temperature. Most of the time fish nowadays is flash frozen either on or just off the boat so it's the closest you can get to fresh without catching it yourself.

KEY INGREDIENTS FOR SEAFOOD SOUP
The secret for a great seafood soup is all in the stock. Head to the grocery store and look for seafood or fish stock. Since my husband is allergic to monosodium glutamate or MSG, I look for low sodium or soup bases without this added flavor enhancer. I was able to find a basic soup base to serve about 4 people for around $2-3 US dollars. For the seafood itself, look for a package of mixed seafood of mussels, calamari, shrimp and chunks of fish. Make sure the seafood is not breaded. If you can't find anything in the frozen section, just check the seafood section of your grocery store. You can then just buy a handful of fresh shrimp and scallops to use for your seafood soup.

SEAFOOD SOUP COOKING INSTRUCTIONS.
In a medium pot, boil the fish stock on high heat on the stove. An optional step to enhance your seafood soup is to add any dried herbs you may have around the house like parsley, garlic, salt and pepper. If you have any leftover white or red wine, you can add in about a quarter cup for flavor. Turn the heat down about halfway, toss in the frozen seafood. Bring the mixture to a boil then simmer until the frozen seafood is fully thawed and cooked inside. Your seafood soup will be piping hot and cooked in minutes.

SUGGESTIONS ON WHAT TO SERVE WITH SEAFOOD SOUP
Buy a package of pre-washed lettuce and add baby tomatoes with fresh mini mozarella balls.
Serve with crusty dinner rolls or a baguette. What sends up a wonderful aroma are those dinner rolls you buy in the bakery section that you heat up in your own oven. A crisp white wine would go lovely with seafood soup.

Salud!