Anisey Blast Fish Soup

My seafood-loving friend Dave came over to celebrate his birthday, so I made him this soup. It’s a breakaway fish soup, everything that’s great about bouillabaisse, with little of the fuss, plus three blasts of anise: Pernod, fresh fennel bulb, and tarragon. If you like those flavors, this soup is for you.

Start by chopping two fennel bulbs, a large onion, one celery stalk, and a few cloves of garlic confit. You can either chop everything finely with a knife, or throw the whole thing in a food processor. . . I’m sort of torn between the two methods, because I can chop quickly and can get everything in the pan pretty easily, but still, I can’t do it as quickly as the processor can. Then again, I have nothing to wash except my knife if I do it by hand, and have a bunch of ugly plastic parts to wash afterward if I use the machine. Always a consideration!

However you do it, saute the chopped veggies for five minutes, and add a good drizzle (maybe three tablespoons) Pernod. Have a wee dram of it to make sure it’s still good. Add one cup canned diced tomatoes and one cup dry white wine. Simmer for five minutes, and add fish of choice. I used a beautiful halibut fillet, cubed, but you could use just about anything: mussels are classic here, squid works well, and almost all firm-fleshed white fish are great. About the only thing I would avoid is the super omega oily fishes like sardines and mackerel.

When the fish is cooked (about three minutes), taste it. More Pernod? Probably, if your palate is like mine. It will certainly like some salt — umami salt got the nod here, given the sea-themed kelp in it. A drizzle of good olive oil, a lashing (as Jeremiah Tower would say) of chopped fresh tarragon, and you’re off!