Fish soup

Name: Fish soup (Shorba hoüt)
Yield: Serves 4
Cuisine: Libyan
Ingredients: 4 large shelled prawns, uncooked; 1 fish head (retained from the prepared fish); 1 tsp ground coriander; juice of ½ lemon; 1 tsp chilli powder or paprika; 1 tsp turmeric; 1 tbsp tomato purée; 1 tsp ground cumin; 1 litre (1¾ pints) water; 2 garlic cloves, peeled and crushed; 1 onion, peeled and finely chopped; 500 g (1 lb 2 oz) flaky white fish, such as sea bream, scaled, gutted, cleaned and cut into chunks; olive oil, for frying

Shorba hoüt

Preparation info

Serves
4

Difficulty
Easy

Appears in

The North African Kitchen

By Fiona Dunlop

Published 2008

About

The stunning array of seafood at Tripoli’s harbourside fish market puts fish soup at the top of the menu in the Libyan capital. This version uses an array of spices to enhance the flavour of the fish, with cumin dominating.

Ingredients

1 onion, peeled and finely chopped
olive oil, for frying
1 tsp ground coriander

Africa
Libya
Tripoli
Fish course
Pescatarian
Soup
North Africa
Gluten-free
Mediterranean

Method

In a deep saucepan, fry the onion in a little olive oil over a medium heat for a few minutes, until soft, then add the spices, tomato purée and garlic. Stir together then add the water, fish, fish head and prawns.
Simmer over a low heat for about 45 minutes. Remove the prawns and set aside. Discard the fish head, bones and skin before pouring the rest of soup t