Salmon Pancetta Soup

Ahh, seafood. This is super simple, fringe paleo (because of the canned products, not the ingredients), delicious start to any amazing seafood soup. I took the flavors from Aldo's on State in Santa Barbara, where they use swordfish and potatoes in their version. There was a time when this was the best soup I had ever had, so I figured out what to do to make it (and now over again to make it Paleo). This is faster to prepare than most dishes I post, and I made it when I thought I was fighting off a cold (one of my co-workers was sick, it was nothing; I must be a hypochondriac) two days ago.

Salmon Pancetta Soup

In a generous portion of olive oil, saute 7 minced garlic cloves. Add 1/4-1/3p of diced pancetta (in America we call this unsmoked, plain old bacon), and a finely diced small onion. Cook until pancetta is done, but not yet crispy. Add three whole, dried, red chilies. Add 1T dried basil. Add 1/2T dried thyme. Season to taste. Add to this a can of salmon, oil and all. Add 15oz cans of petite diced tomatoes and tomato sauce. Add 3 cups of "Paleo Broth" (3c water, 3 bay leaves, 1t celery salt). Simmer until bubbling then serve hot.

Variations: The single biggest variation would be to swap out a cup of broth for white wine. Also, this is good with any white fish (talapia, cod, etc.), halibut, swordfish, and more pungant fish like salmon and cat fish. This takes well to shell fish too, so dont shy away from mussles, shrimp, crab, etc. Vegetables that can be added are potatoes, carrots, celery, larger pieces of onion, zucchini, summer squash, and on and on. This is just about the most basic seafood soup base with unlimited varieties that can be made, so use this as your launching point and be creative. Also, a more traditional approach to this dish does not use pancetta, but rather butter, FYI.