Summer is here. While there’s nothing like a cold drink to quench the thirst, there are others ways to replenish lost body fluids without ingesting all the sugar that often goes with shakes and smoothies. Serving a soup dish with every meal is a good idea. And if you want to cut down on the fat drastically without sacrificing on flavor, use fish stock as a base for your soup.
Making fish stock is simple. You need fish head and bones to start with. I am aware that fish head and bones are discarded in many Western countries and that’s really a shame because there is so much flavor in the head and bones. If you prefer to use fish fillets in your fish dishes, buy a whole fish, ask the fish monger to fillet the fish for you then bring home everything — fillets, head and bones. You can now make your fish stock. If you’re into fish head soup, chop off the head from the bones so you can serve it as a soup. Reserve the rest of the stock, cool, pour into freezer containers and keep in the freezer until needed.
Place the fish heads and bones in a pot. Pour enough water to cover then bring to the boil.
Remove the scum that rises.
Add your aromatics, season with salt and pepper, then simmer for at least 30 minutes.
What aromatics should you add? If you’re making a large batch of fish stock that you intend to freeze and use in different dishes like stews and soups that taste quite differently from one another, then stick to the basics. Add a few cloves of garlic, sliced ginger, shallots and that’s it. When you use the stock to make a stew later, you can add more herbs and spices and they won’t clash with the flavors that are already in the fish stock.
