Sicilian Fish Soup (nightshade free, AIP/paleo)
I owe the inspiration for the development of this recipe to my dear friend/client Cyleste. Cyleste was actually my very first autoimmune nutrition client and together we’ve grown sooo much over the years! (To read more about Cyleste's journey and experience working with me click HERE).
I often ask my clients what flavors, cuisines, or dishes they are craving while on one of my structured programs. I do this because I think it's so important to eat the flavors your heart desires, even when on the autoimmune protocol, other healing protocol/lifestyles, or even when following a paleo template... things just have to get a bit more creative in the kitchen to recreate those familiar flavors with limited or AIP compliant ingredients.
So when Cyleste told me she’d love this traditionally tomato based Sicilian Fish Soup because it had been so strong on her mind lately, I knew I had to recreate it for her! This soup was so nostalgic to her from her time as a child living in the Provence of Catania, in Italy. I’m big on tastes and smells bringing us back to the past and making memories feel vibrantly alive! Isn’t it amazing how foods can do that?!
Challenge accepted!! Man, oh man did I have a lot to live up to!! See, this wasn’t just her favorite soup... but her favorite soup that was made for her by her Sicilian housekeeper; someone who, I suspect, was extremely talented and confident in making this soup. I pushed on and created her the recipe you’ll find below... and this is what Cyleste had to say after making it and trying it herself...
“Robyn!!! The soup is sooooooooo good! It feels like [a stroll down] memory lane! Even Jeanette (wife) loved it and she’s not a fan of seafood!”
I hope you all enjoy this dish that’ll transport you to the Provence of Catania, Italy.
This recipe is nutrient dense, Autoimmune Protocol (AIP) friendly, paleo, primal, dairy free, nut free, egg free, nightshade free, gluten free, & grain free.
What Makes this High-Vibing Food?
First and foremost, putting your own love, gratitude, time and energy into making foods at home will automatically raise the vibration of the foods/meal. This will also help to balance your sacral and heart chakras. Putting your love into the food you prepare will literally raise the vibrational frequency as love is the highest vibration out there!
You are what you eat and what your food eats. Using organic, GMO free, free/pasture raised, wild caught, minimally processed ingredients lead to an overall higher vibrational frequency. Basically, eating organic provides us extra energy currency!
Contains zinc, which is needed for thousands of chemical reactions in your body involving protein, so it is also supportive to the root chakra.
Contains root veggies, which help to provide grounding energy to support the root chakra.
This dish is rich in protein, which is grounding and protective. It also supports the root chakra.
Contains red colored foods. Red vibrates at about the same frequency as the root chakra. So, eating red foods helps to maintain the proper root chakra frequency.
This is a soup recipe, which links the earth and water elements, and stabilizes the root, sacral, and throat chakras.
This is an ethnic food recipe, which supports both the throat and root chakras as eating these foods helps one to connect with other cultures, opening up communication.
A Short Note on Swaps or Ingredients:
* While I cannot guarantee that using these swaps will yield the same flavors I have create in this recipe, these swaps should generally work well!*
Use the Nomato Sauce that is linked below (or one that is similar) if you're sensitive to nightshades or in the strict phase of the AIP. You CAN also use regular marinara sauce if you're not sensitive to nightshades or in the strict phase of the AIP.
Use the curry powder alternative linked below if you're sensitive to nightshades or in the strict phase of the AIP. You CAN also use regular curry powder if you're not sensitive to nightshades or in the strict phase of the AIP.
Equipment Needed to Create this Recipe:
large heavy bottomed soup pot
a cutting board
a good knife
measuring cups/spoons
a wooden spoon
Sicilian Fish Soup
(gluten free, nightshade free, & AIP/paleo)
Prep time: 10-15 minutes Cook time: 30-40 minutes Yield: 7
Ingredients:
1 lb. fresh mussels, cleaned
1 lb. calamari, cleaned & cut into 1-inch wide rings. Use the tentacles as well if you have them.
1 lb. shrimp, shelled and deveined
1 lb. bay scallops, cut into 2-inch pieces.
1 lb. halibut, cut into 2-inch pieces
4 cups Nomato Sauce (like THIS )
2 cups fish stock (check ingredients) or chicken bone broth (it is more authentic with fish stock!)
1 cup organic white wine, dry (the alcohol will cook off- it is still AIP friendly!)
8 cloves garlic, thinly sliced
6 tbsp. chopped onion
4 tbsp. fresh parsley, chopped
2 tbsp. avocado oil (or enough to cook with)
1 tsp. AIP/nightshade free curry powder (find recipe HERE)
Sea salt and garlic granules to taste
How to Create this Recipe:
In a large heavy bottomed soup pot, heat the avocado oil over medium heat until it starts to sizzle. Then, add the garlic. Stir constantly, cooking for 1-2 minutes.
Add the chopped onion, stir well and cook for 1 minute or until the onions begin to become translucent. Then, add the AIP curry powder. Stir in the chopped parsley, and cook for about 1 minute over medium-low heat.
Next, increase the heat to medium-high, add the mussels/calamari and stir into the base for about 2 minutes. Stir in the wine, cooking until it reduces, about 2-3 minutes, followed by adding the Nomato sauce and the stock.
Once the mussels begin to open, add the shrimp, scallops, and fish. Give the soup a good stir, making sure all of the ingredients are combined and mixed together well.
Next, you’ll reduce the heat to a simmer and cook for 10 more minutes.
Turn off the heat add salt and garlic granules to taste.
Enjoy!!
* NOTES:
Please make sure you dispose of any mussels that did not open!
Serve immediately or portion into individual glass containers for left overs.
This recipe would be excellent with caulirice or own its own!
NUTRITION
Serving Size: 1 (based off of 7 servings total)
Calories: 424
Fat: 8 g
Carbs: 26 g
Proteins: 51 g
*All nutritional information are estimations and will vary.