Mediterranean bean and fish soup

You may have read about my determination to get rid of all the foods I have in stock. You may also have read that I stock a quite, um, surprising amount of pulses. My plan forces me to think of a great dish starting from one ingredient (beans, for instance) or another (maybe another kind of beans). Last week I tackled the canned soissons beans. A fennel bulb and two small zucchini were available in the fridge and we also had a jumbo-sized can of chopped tomatoes, the kind they make with an italian family consisting of mamma, papà, five bambini and friends, la nonna and lo zio in mind (the can was not mea culpa, I swear). Being extremely pleased with using both the beans and the tomatoes, I concocted a

Mediterranean bean and fish soup (2-3 helpings)

- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 small red onion, cut into strips
- 1 garlic clove, minced
- 2 small zucchini, sliced diagonally
- 1 fennel bulb, cut into thin slices
- roughly 200g canned chopped tomatoes
- 1 can soissons beans or other beans, drained
- salt and pepper (black and white)
- 200g cod fillets, cut into thick strips
- 1 tablespoon chopped parsley
- 1 teapoon grated lemon zest

Heat the olive oil in a large pan, fry the onion and garlic until softened, stirring frequently. Add the zucchini and fennel and fry for another two minutes. Add the tomatoes and simmer until the vegetables are tender. Rinse the beans and add them to the pan. Season with salt and pepper. Season the fish with salt and white pepper and add to the soup. Cover the pan and simmer over a very low heat until the fish is done, about 10 minutes. Ladle into large bowls and serve sprinkled with parsley and lemon zest.

Cod flakes very easily, but that's fine with me for this kind of dish. If you're opposed to flaking, use a firmer fish such as lotte. Or you could make a somewhat fancier version and quickly fry a few shrimps and place them on your soup.

What happened to the rest of the tomatoes, you wonder? You think I threw them away? Never. Just wait for my next post to see where they ended up.