Italian Fish & Brown Rice Soup

Originally when I made this prior to meeting someone and didn't want to smell of garlic so omitted it, but have adapted it since for extra flavour.  However, if you are ever paranoid, a chef once told me to chew on some parsley to neutralise it.  I've never had any complaints, unless they were being polite!

It would be tremendous if you replaced the 2 chicken or veg stock cubes with fish stock.  I seldom buy fish stock and am assuming many others are like this too hence I never made a special trip, but if you don't have it in, it is still lovely with chicken or veg.

You may notice the quantities measure perfectly for a soup maker, but please do not be tempted with this one - unless you omit the rice.  When I initially created this, it was in a pan only as I made it up as I went along,.  My 2nd making I adapted it for my machine thinking I'd be safe cooking the rice first - I was not!  It did catch a touch.  In fact, if you changed the rice for celery, I believe you will have a winning combination - this is another I will continue to tweak in the future.

If you like a good filling amount, then personally I would double the ingredients - particularly as the weather is warming up, I always want something hydrating yet filling.  Initially I thought it would serve 3 but after only having 1 serving and returning to a cold soup, the rice had absorbed a lot of the moisture.

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9sDs-Lbsd0M]

So here is the recipe & hope you like it too!

Ingredients
-2 minced cloves of garlic sauted gently in frylight (optional)
-80g brown or white rice (I used brown for more nutrients) or replace with a stick of celery
-A handful of frozen garden peas
-1 large onion, diced
-1 or 2 basa frozen fish fillets from an Aldi multipack (I used 1)
-2 tins of chopped tomatoes
-2 chicken, veg or fish stock cubes
-1tsp dried mixed herbs
-1tbsp basil
-5 closed mushrooms sliced
-1 red or green pepper, diced
-300-400ml water
-Frylight
-A generous handful of spinach
-Seasoning

Method
1. Firstly grill the fish for 10mins, turning half way through and saute the minced garlic alongside the onion.

2. Meanwhile, cook the brown rice in the water for 10 minutes with the lid on.

3. Add the rest of the veg (apart from the peas), seasoning and herbs and saute for another 5 minutes.

4. Now add add of the ingredients, seasoning and the fish and simmer for 15-20 minutes depending on how soft you want the brown rice and serve.

5. Serve with a handful of spinach on top of each portion.

📖 Recipe