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To make the broth: Go to fish store and ask for fish heads or carcasses; they will usually have salmon or halibut. At least two carcasses are ideal. Put in a large stock pot and cover with water. Add two onions cut into quarters, a few celery stalks, carrots and fresh herbs such as thyme and bay leaves. Add some white wine and fennel and orange slices, if desired. A handful of chopped parsley can be added toward the end. Simmer for about an hour, and then drain the stock.

In another heavy, large-bottomed pot, start the soup. Sauté two or three chopped onions in olive oil, butter or palm oil with a generous sprinkling of sea salt. Add ginger chopped into matchsticks and garlic, both minced and whole cloves. When onions are translucent, add root vegetables, cut into large, creative and unusual shapes. Simmer very slowly until vegetables are getting soft.  Then start adding other, softer vegetables, whatever is in season. Use as many vegetables as you wish, you cannot go wrong.  If herbs are dried, add them at the beginning; if they are fresh, add them at the end.

Generously salt and pepper the vegetable mixture and then add the fish stock. Leafy greens like spinach, kale or chard can then be added. Simmer until flavors start to meld. At the end, add cubed pieces of fish (about 1/3 lb. per person). They will cook very fast, in about 5 minutes. Flavorings can include tamari soy sauce, Thai or Vietnamese fish sauce, or Yemenite tzug (a spice paste that can be found in halal shops). Be generous with cumin and ground black pepper. Taste to adjust salt.

Pearlson always ends by squeezing fresh lemon juice into the soup, and serving additional lemon juice at the table, as well as chopped cilantro, parsley or minced garlic.

The soup can be transformed into a stew by adding a grain. Soak the grain first for several hours to aid digestion. White rice or quinoa can be added directly into the soup 15 minutes before it’s done; other grains, such as brown rice, millet or barley, should be cooked in a separate pot and then added at the end.