Fish Stock Made At Today's Catch: Frozen Stock, Piece Of Fish & You're 80% Of The Way To Dinner

Soup made easy by Today's Catch stock

Cod heads.  Today's Catch makes its own fish stock from cod heads.  I know because the owner showed me a head.  I should have snapped a photo, but it's so geeky to say "For my food blog."  I just froze up.

They freeze the fish stock too.  That's how it becomes a perfect helper for you.  Today's Catch in Columbia brings in dozens of fish, butchers out the steaks and fillets, then cooks down the heads with, presumably, some vegetables and spices.

You get convenience food based on that their work -- pints or quarts plucked from the freezer.

For two people, get a pint and a piece of white fish.  They recommended hake to me last weekend, and it worked beautifully.  I defrosted the stock in a small pot.  It has a light flavor, maybe a hint of Old Bay seasoning although I didn't taste that in the finished soup.

To make soup, I added a can of good canned tomatoes.  I poured in the juice and broke up the tomatoes with my fingers.  While that heated, I sauteed some mushrooms and onion in another pan.  I added those to the stock, along with salt and pepper.  You could do anything -- a little spinach?  Some other diced vegetables?  Another spice or herb?

Once I had soup that tasted good, I cut two three-inch slices from the thickest part of the filet.  The remainder of fish, I broke into pieces and stirred into the soup.  The two slices, I laid on top.  The pot was small enough that the soup came up several inches and just covered the fish.  I covered the pot and let everything cook until the fish was firm.

Then I made two bowls, each with a layer of vegetables and fish chunks on the bottom with the big slice on top.  I poured the broth over each.  That couldn't have been more than 30 minutes, and it tasted like hours of work.

That's the fun of a real fish market.  Today's Catch gives you really nice fish -- and you also get real advice and the benefit of real work like this housemade fish stock or the frozen clams for chowder.  This is the season for soup, so check it all out.