Spiced Fish Soup

Spiced Cauliflower and Fish Soup 


This soup can be prepared with or without chilli.

My favourite chilli is called Mr Naga, and is imported from Bangladesh. A fraction of a teaspoon will enliven an entire pot of soup of a stew; it is extremely powerful, and a 44g jar, kept in the fridge, will last for a very long time. You may, if you wish, add any type of chilli to this recipe.

The following version is made without chilli, but could benefit from it.

In your nut blender, or in a mortar, add the following:
1 teaspoon of ginger powder, a teaspoon of coriander seed, 1 green cardamon, 1 black cardamon, a blade of mace, 1/2 of a star anise, 1/4 of a whole nutmeg, 4 cloves, a teaspoon each of thyme, basil, sage and rosemary.

If you wish to add chilli to your recipe, this is the time to add it.

In the bottom of your pot, pour a generous amount of olive oil,and add the herbs and spices. Bring these up to a medium heat, until you have judged that the oils have penetrated the spices and herbs, but not so hot as to make the oil smoke.

Add five or more cloves of garlic to the pot (or a block of frozen garlic)


Then, while your spices are heating up in the oil, take a large head of cauliflower, clean it, and chop it loosely.

Throw this into a pot with the contents of a tin of pilchards or two tins of sardines, or a couple of fillets of smoked mackerel, if you have some to hand; indeed, any oily  fish could be used, such as wild caught salmon - fresh or tinned.


Cook the soup until it simmers, and allow it to continue to simmer for 5 minutes; remove it from the hob, and blend it carefully with a hand blender, until it is smooth.

Return it to the heat; if you wish, you may add a 400mL tin of coconut milk. Allow it to heat up once more, and serve.


This soup is quite heavy, and is very filling. You may wish to dilute it with additional water, to which you have added a small amount of sweet potato starch or tapioca, to give it a smoother texture.


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