Hot and sour fish soup with dill

Ingredients:

6 dried mushrooms

350g (12oz) white fish, e.g. cod or haddock

2 ripe tomatoes

2 pints chicken stock

2 tbsps tamarind paste

1 tbsp fish sauce

2 spring onions

a small bunch of fresh dill

1 fresh red or green chilli

Method:

Soak the dried mushrooms in a small bowl in hot water for 20 minutes or until soft. Cut into small pieces. Cut the fish into small 1in chunks, sprinkle with a little salt and set aside for 20 minutes.

Slice the spring onions and chilli into small rings and chop the dill finely.

Skin the tomatoes by dipping in boiling water for a few seconds, then cut in half and remove as many of the seeds as possible. Chop into small dice.

Combine the stock, tamarind paste and fish sauce in a saucepan. Bring to a simmer. Drop in the fish and mushrooms and simmer very gently until the fish is cooked through, this takes only a minute or two. Add the spring onions, dill, chilli and tomatoes. Cook for another minute, add more salt if necessary to taste.

Serve immediately. Enough for four.

JUDY BROADWAY