fish soup

White fish, potato, onion, fish stock and milk – an excellent five-ingredient recipe. Most of them are probably to hand, anyway, so a quick stop to pick up fresh fish (if you don't have any in the freezer) and you're ready to go.

Last night I added a sixth ingredient, just for good measure – fennel. The soft aniseed flavour fell in line with the milk and onion and very subtly made the dish.

Fish soup
(serves 2, twice or 4, once)

500 g white fish, skinned and chopped into bite-size chunks (I used black halibut, though cod, haddock, or even plaice would work fine)
2 baking potatoes, cubed
2 medium onions, chopped
1 bulb of fennel, chopped
1 litre of hot fish stock
½ pint of milk (I used semi-skimmed, though either skimmed or whole would work fine)
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
2 tbsp olive oil
a handful of spring onions (scallions) chopped

Heat the olive oil in a large pot. Add the potato and onion and allow to sauté over medium to low heat for about8 minutes.

Add the fish stock, fennel, salt and pepper. Bring to the boil and reduce to a simmer for 15 minutes.

Add the fish and allow to simmer for a further 5 minutes.

Finally, stir in the milk over gentle heat. Add the spring onions and season to taste. Serve immediately in shallow bowls.

I really like this soup – it’s gentle, soft and simple. The potatoes crush very soothingly in the mouth, and the stock takes on a very silky quality with the addition of milk. I think the addition of cream would be inappropriate – too heavy-handed in this instance.

Fresh herbs would also be a good touch – lemon thyme, chives or parsley, perhaps – though I didn’t have any to hand other than basil and coriander, which would have jarred.

30 minutes door-to-door for this recipe, so it’s perfect for a Monday night.