Italian Wedding Fish Soup

Hello
This recipe might be my favorite yet!  Starting off, I love wedding soup as is.  It's an Italian traditional soup, but apparently it's a Pittsburgh thing to just eat it all the time.  And why need a special occasion to eat something delicious!  So enjoy...

Italian Wedding Fish Soup  serves 6-8 
Ingredients:1/2 teaspoon salt
3 cups water
¼ lb of raw shrimp, peeled
8 oz clams
2 cups fish stock
2 cups bottled clam juice
2 (14-oz) cans diced tomatoes in juice
1 teaspoon sugar
1 skinless tilapia fillet, cut into 1-inch pieces
1 Tbsp dried basil
½ tsp paprika
2 cups thinly sliced escarole
1 cup uncooked acini de pepe pasta
1/3 cup finely chopped carrot (approx 1 medium carrot)


To prepare:
1. Add stock and clam juice to pot along with 3 cups water, tomatoes with juice, sugar, and 1/2 teaspoon salt and simmer, uncovered, 15 minutes. Marinate fish and shrimp in dried basil and paprika.

2. Heat broth to boiling; stir in escarole, orzo pasta, and chopped carrot. Return to boil, and then reduce heat to medium. Cook at slow boil for until pasta is just about done. Stir frequently to prevent sticking.

3. Add shrimp, clams, and tilapia to stock and cook at a bare simmer, covered, until just cooked through, about 2 minutes.

The Verdict
This soup is a great combo of fish and tomato, and has enough meat to make it a filling dish.  One of my favorites yet, and I'm happy to have enough to freeze for another meal!

Later,
Cass