Piranha Soup

• 4 lbs (2 kg) piranhas – approximately 10 fish
• 3 cloves garlic, crushed
• 3 Tbsp. fresh-squeezed lime juice
• 1 Tbsp. white wine or cider vinegar
• salt and pepper to taste
• 1/2 cup plus 2 Tbsp. neutral vegetable oil
• 2 large tomatoes, peeled, seeded and chopped
• 1 large green bell pepper, cut into julienne strips
• 1 medium onion, chopped
• 1 Tbsp. green onion, chopped
• 2 Tbsp. cilantro, chopped

DIRECTIONS

By some chance you managed to wrangle some piranas, please read on. If you don’t have piranhas where you live, and would like to try this piranha soup recipe, we suggest a freshwater fish: pike, walleye, dover sole…

Prepare your marinade. In a large bowl combine garlic, lime juice, vinegar, salt and pepper.

Descale the piranhas. Place your piranhas on surface that won’t absorb; the smell is fishy and you don’t want that aroma to linger. Clean and descale the piranhas. This will be a challenge as the piranhas bone structure isn’t like many of the common fish we dish. Once descaled, cut them into large chunks.

Place all piranha chunks into large bowl with marinade. Let it marinate for 2 hours.

In a small pot, bring 2 cups of water to a boil.

While water is growing to a boil, heat large saucepan with 1/2 cup of oil, medium high heat. Add piranha chunks, moving them around every so often – about 3 minutes.

Add water to cover fish, bring to boil, once it begins to boil lower heat and cover. Let it cook for 10 minutes or until fish is tender. Remove from heat and strain fish from broth. Set fish and broth aside.

Let fish cool. Once cooled, inspect fish for more bones and remove them.

Place both fish and broth in blender. Blend until smooth.

On another saucepan, heat the remaining 2 Tbsp oil over medium heat. Add tomatoes, green peppers, chopped onion and cook until onions are translucent and soft.

Add piranha broth to pan then toss in chopped green onions and cilantro. Heat completely.

Serve hot and with your favorite hot sauce.