Pantry Seafood Soup

It's time for soup making in my house.  It's starting to get a little chilly out plus it's a great source for comfort especially when you're feeling a little under the weather.  Today, I made a seafood soup consisting of red snapper and shrimp which I had in my freezer.  I wanted to make something out of it and thought this would be a perfect fit in a soup.  I dug through my spice pantry and put together a perfect combination for the most delicious flavors and they all seemed to work together.  All of the ingredients were items I had in my kitchen so I am naming it after my pantry.  I am posting the recipe so you can try it out.  I hope it becomes one of your favorites.

Pantry Seafood Soup

Ingredients:

3 red snapper fillets cut into cubes
2 cups of cooked shrimp peeled and deveined
1 red bell pepper chopped
1 small onion finely chopped
1 small shallot clove minced
2 garlic cloves minced
2 tomatoes chopped
4 cups of beef broth (can substitute for chicken or seafood stock)
4 cups of water
2 tsp of black truffle extra virgin olive oil
2 tsp of butter
1/8 tsp of crushed spanish saffron
1/2 dried thyme
1 tsp white pepper
1 tbsp Trader Joe's 21 seasoning salute
1 tbsp garlic powder
1 tbsp garlic salt
1 tsp Tony Chachere's more spice seasoning

Method:

In a soup pot, heat the oil and butter over medium heat.  Add butter until melted, then add the onions, garlic, shallots, bell pepper, and tomatoes and stir.  Over low heat, cover and cook for about 6-8 minutes until softened. Turn the heat back up to medium high and add the water, broth, saffron, thyme, white pepper, seasoning salute, garlic powder, garlic salt, and more spice seasoning and bring to a boil.  Then add the snapper and shrimp and turn the heat to medium and let simmer for about 10 minutes.  

Serve hot over cooked white rice and enjoy.  To add some heat, garnish with cayenne pepper, crushed red pepper, and Old Bay seasoning. If you do try it out, please feel free to share your experience.