And he said to them, “Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men.” Matthew 4:19
If you’re new to “traditional food”, then you might not yet have a copy of Nourishing Traditions by Sally Fallon Morell. You are going to need a copy of that book! Go ahead and click on this link to get it. 🙂
Now that you have Nourishing Traditions, I have to tell you about Nourishing Broth: An Old-Fashioned Remedy for the Modern World by Sally Fallon Morell and Kaayla T. Daniel!!!
The time-honored tradition of slowly simmering bones and organs of animals into a vitamin and mineral-rich bone broth is long lost in our modern microwave and powdered-broth culture. But bone broth seems to be making a come-back! I see it on a lot of food blogs now and even popular news sites.
The new Nourishing Broth book is here just in time for this come-back, offering a ton of valuable nutritional wisdom, resources and recipes. I’ve recently been focusing on some health issues and trying to consume a broth-based meal every day- whether it’s just sipping on broth as a hot drink or using it as a base for a soup or stew. I’ve been posting a lot of traditional soup and stew recipes on my Pinterest page lately, too. But many recipes call for pre-made stock. You are cheating your health if you aren’t using homemade nutrient-dense bone broth!
I’ve got chicken stock and beef stock down. You can click here for my homemade chicken stock and soup recipe and click here for a lentil and vegetable soup made with bone marrow broth.
I’m ready to move on to mastering fish stock
Not only does the nutritional information in Nourishing Broth make me want to be sipping fish stock as often as possible, but I recently embarked on healing my daughter’s tooth decay naturally. In the book I reference for that, Cure Tooth Decay by Ramiel Nagel, I’ve learned about the extraordinary benefits of “fish head soup”.
Sounds a little extreme, right? Almost as gnarly as my rooster head stock.
Try telling your kids you’re having fish head soup for dinner and send me a video clip of their response!
But the truth is, fish parts (bones, brains, organs, etc.) are incredibly nutrient-dense and it’s a tragedy that we don’t incorporate the parts into our modern diets! Making broth with these parts is so easy, and you can use fish stock to make so many delicious, kid-friendly recipes.
Off to the Asian markets to get my fish
Believe it or not, I live right next to the ocean in Southern California yet it is very difficult to find fresh, wild-caught seafood. The best source for us is to either catch it ourselves or visit one of the local Asian markets- about 30 minutes away for us.
Unlike the tiny selection of packaged salmon, tuna or farmed tilapia in all of our local markets, the seafood displays in the Asian markets are quite an adventure. You have to have a plan!
I recently went to this Filipino market and didn’t have a plan. I came home with a bunch of whole fish, shell-on shrimp and a bag of anchovies. I was up late prepping everything I bought, but it should last a while. Here’s what I made:
- A giant pot of fish stock using whole fish- including the heads- and the shells of the shrimp for basic fish stock (recipe in Nourishing Broth). I froze 4 gallons of stock and saved a gallon in my fridge to use that week.
- I prepped the anchovies (getting tired and feeding my chickens half of them) and salted them in a jar. They should be ready to pack in oil in a few weeks.
- I made a delicious shrimp bisque with the shrimp meat and fresh fish stock. I have to perfect the recipe before posting it, though.
This “fish day” made the house STINK! Everyone complained for 2 days. It was well worth it to make a giant batch of stock all at once then freeze it, though. I think I’ll plan to have this kind of “fish day” only once every few months. I will, however, be visiting the Asian markets more often to get my seafood!
Fish stock is a little trickier than chicken stock.
I wouldn’t say I’ve mastered fish stock yet. You’ll have to practice the recipes from the book instead of me trying to give you a better one. With chicken and beef stock you can rely on gelatin-rich results and delightfully savory flavors that I love drinking straight from the pot.
The fish stock was just plain gross. I don’t think I could ever drink it straight from the pot. So the first step is to master the stock, then master the recipes using fish stock that are family friendly!
Ready to start making bone broths like fish stock?? Click here to get your copy of Nourishing Broth!
