Blogfinger

By Eileen Goldfinger  (food editor at Blogfinger)

4 cups fish broth
1 cup water
6 ounces halibut, cut in 2 inch pieces
4 extra large sea scallops
7 ounces cooked lobster meat
1/2   32 ounce can San Marzano whole tomatoes, hand crushed
1 sweet onion, diced
1 Anaheim pepper, seeded, diced
4 cloves garlic, chopped
1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes
pinch of sea salt or kosher salt
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
10 large leaves of Swiss chard,  remove center stem, slice leaves in 1/2 inch strips
6 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

Use a heavy 5 quart Dutch oven with a lid.  Heat oil on medium heat, then add diced onions. Cook onions until they begin to soften, approximately 10 minutes.  Add the Anaheim peppers, red pepper flakes, salt and pepper;  stir and cook for another 10 minutes.  Lower the heat to medium-low, add the garlic and cook for another 3 minutes.  Add the crushed tomatoes, return the heat to medium and cook for an additional 10 minutes

Remove fish from refrigerator and allow it to reach room temperature.

Add the broth, water and Swiss chard to the pot, stir, bring to a boil, cover the pot, lower heat so the liquid simmers and cook for 45 minutes.

Taste the soup and adjust seasoning.

Add halibut to soup and cook for 5 minutes.  Next add scallops to soup and cook for 7 minutes.  Finally, add lobster and cook for 2 minutes.

Serve with grilled Ciabatta bread and sautéed slices of polenta.

Serves 2

Cook’s note: A more economical version could substitute any solid white fish such as cod loin for the halibut. The lobster could be replaced with shrimp.  A good wine with this is Cavit’s Pinot Grigio  (from Italy) served chilled. It is inexpensive and quite delicious.

Editor’s note:  This recipe is 100% heart healthy. Fish is a nutritious protein source which contains no saturated fat and very low amounts of total fat. Lobster and scallops are shellfish which contain only small amounts of cholesterol.  All these fish components are heart healthy due to their fish oils. Note that the cooking oil chosen is olive oil, which is a “good oil” high in monounsaturated fat.  Swiss chard is high in anti-oxidants, vitamins and minerals.    This recipe originally posted on Blogfinger in 2011.

Paperback still available on line. Type in Paul Goldfinger MD. 36 original heart healthy recipes by EILEEN GOLDFINGER.

MUSIC: To play while you enjoy your Italian Fish Soup by candlelight :  Puccini, from La Boheme, “Musetta’s Waltz”–Kiri Te Kanawa: