Sally's Galley: Shellfish Broth

So, I bet you’re planning on tucking into some prawns this summer. Crabs, too, if you’re lucky. An Australian summer just wouldn’t be complete without a gathering, outside, around a table, with plenty of cold beer and cut lemons, and a big pile of prawns to peel or crabs to crack.

Have a think about all those shells that are thrown away (or dutifully wrapped and frozen to take out on bin night but stay in your freezer for at least another month!).

Half the weight of a kilo of prawns is in the shells, so unfortunately we’re paying for them.

But the French, with their luscious shellfish bisques and sauces, have long know that crustacean shells are a valuable source of flavour.

Spoilt as we are in Australia, with an abundance of great seafood, our prawn and crab shells are more often thrown overboard (or used as snapper berley) than in recipes.

In this soup, the shells give enormous depth of flavour to a clear broth.

Add any combination of noodles, wontons, rice, chunks of fish, shellfish or veges will turn it into a more substantial bowl of goodness. Small meatballs made from pork, chicken or fish mince mixed with your favourite Asian herbs also work well.

Gently poach whatever needs cooking in the simmering broth for extra flavour.

This recipe is a bit like the loaves and fishes….it's a way to get an extra feed from what you’d usually throw away!

Add anything you like to the broth to make it more substantial….pieces of fish, chicken, veges, rice, noodles, wontons, etc

Cheers!
Sally Jenyns

*The Sally's Galley column is written by Sally Jenyns, a well-travelled boater, successsful angler, on-board chef, champion crew, accomplished author, TV presenter and mother of two. You can follow Sally at Sally Jenyn's Facebook Page.