Gone Fishin'

By MAYI BRADY

July 5, 1996 12 AM PT

This summer seafood soup has a little bit of a lot of things--clams, mussels, shrimp, scallops and fish. It’s a whole meal that makes easy eating on hot days. All the soup needs is a hunk of bread and something cool to finish--strawberry-orange sorbet, for instance. To dress up the soup for guests, I like to spread olive tapenade on baguettes for a great first course.

The soup calls for fish stock, an ingredient that intimidates many cooks. If you’d rather not make your own stock, add three fish bouillon cubes to seven cups of water.

On the other hand, homemade fish stock isn’t much work and it can make a big difference in flavor. Just add some fish heads to your shopping list and simmer them in water for about an hour with an onion, a carrot, a celery stalk, a couple of black peppercorns and a sprig of parsley. Strain the broth and that’s it. You can make a lot at once to keep on hand for fish dishes all summer long.

Olive Tapenade Baguettes

Cioppino With Lime Gremolata

Strawberry-Orange Sorbet

CIOPPINO WITH LIME GREMOLATA

LIME GREMOLATA

Finely grated peel of 2 limes

Finely grated peel of 1 lemon

3 tablespoons minced parsley

1 teaspoon finely minced garlic

CIOPPINO

24 small clams

12 mussels

Salt

2 tablespoons olive oil

6 cloves garlic, minced

2 shallots, minced

1/2 to 1 teaspoon crushed red pepper

1/3 cup tomato paste

7 cups fish stock

1 pound fish (cod, sea bass, snapper, salmon) cut into chunks

3/4 pound large shrimp, peeled and deveined

1/2 pound bay scallops

Juice of 1 lemon

LIME GREMOLATA

Mix lime and lemon peel with parsley and garlic.

CIOPPINO

Soak clams and mussels in large bowl of salted water at least 15 minutes. Rinse clams and mussels under running water, scrubbing them with small brush. Pull beards off mussels. Discard any mussels with cracked or open shells. Return clams and mussels to salted water and let stand until ready to use.

Heat oil in very large pot. Add garlic, shallots and red pepper. Cook over medium heat until very fragrant, 6 to 8 minutes. Add tomato paste and continue to cook another 5 minutes, stirring constantly. Add 1 cup fish stock and bring to boil. Remove clams and mussels from salted water and add. Cover and cook just until shells open, about 5 minutes. Add remaining stock, 2 teaspoons salt (or more or less to taste), fish, shrimp and scallops. Cook over medium heat 8 to 10 minutes. Add lemon juice and correct seasoning. Sprinkle with Lime Gremolata.

Makes 6 generous servings.

Each serving contains about:

288 calories; 1,017 mg sodium; 145 mg cholesterol; 9 grams fat; 11 grams carbohydrates; 42 grams protein; 0.33 gram fiber.

OLIVE TAPENADE BAGUETTES

1/2 cup chopped Kalamata olives

2 cloves garlic, chopped

1 oil-packed anchovy fillet

1 teaspoon chopped fresh thyme

2 teaspoons grated Parmesan cheese

1 teaspoon capers

1 1/2 tablespoons olive oil

Freshly ground black pepper

2 baguettes, cut in half lengthwise

Chop olives, garlic, anchovy, thyme, Parmesan and capers in food processor until finely minced, 20 to 30 seconds. Scrape down sides of bowl and with motor running add olive oil in thin stream until smooth mixture forms. Season to taste with black pepper. Spread thinly over sliced baguettes and place under broiler until heated through, 4 to 5 minutes. Slice bread before serving.

Makes 6 servings.

Each serving contains about:

314 calories; 807 mg sodium; 1 mg cholesterol; 7 grams fat; 53 grams carbohydrates; 8 grams protein; 1.99 grams fiber.

STRAWBERRY-ORANGE SORBET

2 cups water

1 1/4 cups sugar

1 quart strawberries, hulled

Finely grated peel of 1 orange

Juice of 1 orange

Juice of 1 lime

Boil water and sugar, uncovered, until sugar is dissolved, 4 to 5 minutes. Cool syrup to room temperature.

Puree strawberries in blender or food processor until smooth. Strain to remove seeds. Combine syrup, strawberry puree, orange peel, and orange and lime juices. Chill until cold, about 1 hour. Freeze in ice cream maker according to manufacturer’s directions.

Makes 6 to 8 servings.

Each of 6 servings contains about:

203 calories; 2 mg sodium; 0 cholesterol; 0 fat; 52 grams carbohydrates; 1 gram protein; 0.58 gram fiber.

GAME PLAN

Night before: Make strawberry-orange sorbet; prepare fish stock.

Morning of dinner: Make lime gremolata and the olive tapenade.

1 hour before: Put clams and mussels in salted water.

45 minutes before: Clean clams and remove beards from mussels.

30 minutes before: Spread tapenade on baguettes. Preheat broiler. Make cioppino. Broil baguettes.

PANTRY

Olive oil

Garlic