Contributed by Lynn Public
I've always called this fish head soup but it's real name is 'Sopa De escado A La Vasca' or so I was told in Toronto several years ago. or all I know the translations is "Take me to a sleazy motel and crew my honky ass off."
I live a short distance from the South Street Seaport and the great fish market across the street. If you get there just after mid-morning when things are not so frantic, there are some great things to be had. If you are a girl, bra-less with a short skirt not adverse to flirting and showing some skin, the prices can be remarkably low. I can almost always get all the fish heads I want.
I buy a mess of mussels (3 dozen or so) and any white fish that will stay firm when cooked. Isn't this how Julia Child started or was that Emirl?
Well anyway, here's what you do. BTW, this soup must be prepared in the nude wearing a dog-collar and served to a dominant guy with big equipment. (the ssbb vigilantes require things to have a bdsm context.)
Fry 6, 8 or a dozen cloves of garlic in olive oil along with 2 or three dildo-sized carrots and 2 or three normal size onions in a soup pot. They are diced and cooked slowly with a bay leaf or two and a fair amount of thyme for a quarter of an hour with enough oil to be shiny (greasy). Just before this is finished cooking add the fish and cook for about three minutes and then remove. (Don't throw the fish heads in yet.)
Next the dom gets into the act if he is able to move after the wake-up session you had with him in the bedroom, bathroom and foyer. Doms love this. They should put a quarter cup of cognac in the pan, heat it and then flame it. The dears really get their jollies doing this, so let them do it again. (That's why you used a little more olive oil than was necessary.)
Next add 2 and half or three quarts of water. Dump in the fish heads whole and bring to a boil.
Here's how to open the mussels. In a different pot add the mussels and a little water and heat over a moderate heat until the muscles open. Spoon out the mussels, shells and all and let cool. Strain the steaming water into the soup. The soup is done when it tastes okay and reduced somewhat. Strain the soup to get all the heads and debris from it and discard the debris.
Next take 4 slices of white bread and discard the crust if Martha is coming to dinner. Break the bread into really small pieces and dump into the soup to thicken it. Break up the fish and put in the soup, add the unshelled mussels. I leave about a dozen shelled because they look kewl. Add salt if you must.
Serve burning hot. With a lot of toasted garlic bread with store-sliced cheese. Add grated cheese to the soup if you are want it. Mostly you will either add cheese to the bread or the soup but not both. However, there are no rules except that sopping bread into it IS required.
Red wine if you made it garlic-y. White wine if you are a wuz.
"bun app-a-tits"
This page last updated 08/192003/