THis excellent soup so frequently and easily made in our restaurant kitchen, where the fonds de cuisine are always on hand, is perfectly possible in home kitchens even if certain substitutions have to be made. Made in this quantity, it will serve as Ul excellent beginning to a large buffet supper or dinner party.
To serve twelve to sixteen:
2 pounds mussels in their shells
2 pounds various small Esh (smelts, whitebait, sole, butterfish, etc.)
One 11/4-pound lobster
1/4 pound shrimp
COURT-BOUILLON
4 CUPS CONCENTRATED FISHSTOCK
2 CUPS LOBSTER BISQUE BASE
8 CUPS CLEAR MEAR CONSOMMÉ
2 cups heavy cream
Pinch of saffron
1 clove of garlic, minced
Salt and pepper
COOK the mussels according to directions. Remove them from their shells and trim off the "beards." Ladle the cooking liquid into a large saucepan or into a deep serving casserole. Take care not to let any sand that may have settled in the bottom of the pan be included in the broth. Put the trimmed mussels in the clear broth.
Follow directions for making the court-bouillon and poaching the fish, which should be cleaned, boned, and cut into rather large pieces if necessary. Remove the cooked fish from the court-bouillon with a slotted spoon. In the same stock boil the lobster for 15 to 20 minutes. Remove the lobster, and put in the shrimp, which have been previously cleaned and shelled; simmer 5 minutes.
Put the fish and the shelled lobster and shrimp in the mussel broth, and add the CONCENTRATED FISH STOCK. However, an excellent substitute for this is, of course, the strained court-bouillon in which the fish and shellfish have just been cooked.
Add the LOBSTER BISQUE BASE or, lacking that, an equal quantity of undiluted tinned or frozen lobster soup. Add the consommé, or an equal amount of the best tinned variety available. Add the cream, saffron, and the freshly ground pepper. Salt to taste; there may be no need of extra salt. Let the soup simmer until it begins to thicken, and serve it in heated soup plates.
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