It’s school holidays and there’s lots of people in the house. Lunch is often rushed in between outdoor activities, but it can’t be ignored. A hearty soup with a seafood addition and some crusty bread suits most palates with the advantage of being a bit special. Unfortunately, I haven’t mastered the art of baking of really good bread yet, but really, why bother – there’s so much great bread locally.

Jo’s Capsicum Soup with Seafood Garnish

Soup

Ingredients
2 tbs olive oil
1 onion chopped
3 cloves garlic crushed
2 capsicum chopped
2 potatoes chopped into small cubes
2 cups fish stock
1 can whole tomatoes
1 400g can coconut milk
1/2 tsp chopped chilli
1 tsp grated ginger
2 tbs fish sauce
Grated rind of 1 lime and juice of half the lime
Salt & pepper

Method
Sauté the onion and garlic until soft
Add the capsicum, potatoes, tomatoes, coconut milk, chilli, ginger and lime, bring to the boil and then simmer until the potato is soft
Add the fish sauce, taste for seasoning and then blend with a hand whisk until the soup is smooth

Garnish

Ingredients
2 tbs olive oil
150g white fish, chopped into small pieces
8 green prawns shelled, deveined and chopped into small pieces
Grated rind of 1 lime
Handful of chopped parsley
Salt & pepper

Method
Just before serving, heat the olive oil in a frypan and sauté the fish, prawns, garlic, lime rind and parsley until the fish is cooked. Season with salt and pepper
Add a tablespoon of this mix as a garnish to each bowl of hot soup. Serve with crusty bread.