Venetian Fish Soup (Veneto)

Soups

Ingredients

Assorted fish - 5 pounds

Lemon - 1/2

Ripe tomatoes, peeled and chopped - 3 large

Salt

Olive oil - 1/2 cup

Garlic, finely chopped- 2 cloves

Onion, finely chopped - 1 small

Parsley, finely chopped - 2-3 sprigs

Bread, crisply fried in oil - 12 slices

Grated parmesan cheese

Cut off the mullet's head, tail and fins, and put them into a large pan. Cut the mullet itself into rounds and put aside. Add all the remaining fish, lemon, tomatoes, and salt to taste to the mullet trimmings and cover with 10 cups. Cook over a moderate heat for 30 minutes. Strain.

Heat the oil in another large pan, saute the garlic, onion and parsley until golden, then add the pieces of mullet. When the mullet is cooked, add the fish stock and bring to a slow boil. Put 2 slices of fried bread into each soup bowl, sprinkle generously with parmesan and ladle the soup over the top. Serve immediately.

Serves 6.