I had some leftover tuna from making Spice Crusted Tuna for French Fridays with Dorie. I hated to waste such beautiful fish, but I just wasn’t in the mood to slice it and serve it over salad. So, I referred to my Basque roots–I have both French and Spanish Basque family members and spent part of my honeymoon there–and created my own take on Marmitako, Basque Tuna Soup.
NB: I like some spice and kick to my food and we had people getting over colds in this house, so I wanted for it to clear the passageways, as it were. I started with the level of paprika and piment d’espelette listed in the recipe and then added about 1/2 teaspoon of the latter after tasting.
- 2 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
- 1.5 cups chopped onion about 1 medium
- 1.5 cups chopped or sliced bell pepper I used red and yellow
- 1.5 cups chopped potatoes about 1 large russet
- 1 tbsp Hungarian paprika
- 1.5 tsp piment d'espelette
- 4 cups fish broth or stock
- 12 oz seared tuna from spice crusted tuna
- 1.5 cups arugula packed
- Heat a pan over medium heat for 1-2 minutes, then add oil to the pan. Once hot, add the chopped onions. Sauté the onions until they are soft and slightly translucent, about 3 minutes.
- Next, add the bell pepper to the pan and sauté until starting to soften, about 2 minutes.
- Now, add the potatoes, paprika, and piment d'espelette, and sauté for about 30 seconds until you can smell the spices toasting.
- Add the fish broth and turn the heat up to medium-high. Bring to a boil and then lower the heat and simmer the soup until the potatoes are the texture you like. I simmered for about 15 minutes.
- At this point, you may want to taste the broth: if it just right spice-wise, continue on. If it's too spicy, add in some more fish broth, about 1/4 cup at a time, until it's right for your palate. If not spicy enough, well, you know what to do.
- Finally, add the tuna and cook on low for about 2 minutes (for already seared tuna, a bit longer for raw tuna) until heated through.
- If you like, you can add in a handful of arugula leaves with the tuna just until wilted. Chard or even pre-cooked kale or collard greens would also go nicely and add some beautiful greens to your soup.
- Taste for salt and pepper and adjust.
NB: You can definitely use raw, not previously seared, tuna. Just cut it into cubes and heat through for about 4-5 minutes total!
Looks good!
Thanks, Guyla!
This soup looks right up my alley. If I were starting with fresh, not leftover, fish, do you think I should cook it first or just add in chunks?
Thanks, Betsy! Just add the raw tuna in chunks and cook it for 4-5 minutes on low, instead of just the 2 minutes for already-seared tuna. I’ve added a note to the recipe reflecting that, so thank you for asking!