Fish Soup from Andoni’s Taverna in Rethymno

Instructions

1. Boil the rockfish in a large pot with 8 cups of water until the flesh is falling off the bones. 
2. Strain the broth into another large pot, pressing the fish to extract all the juices, and discard the remnants. 
3. Add the vegetables, salt, pepper, and olive oil to the broth and boil until half-cooked. Lower the fish slices into the pot and boil until just tender (there should be no pink flesh near the bone). Off the heat, pour in the lemon juice and serve immediately. 

Tip: Marika Petraki in Mochlos solves the problem of how to cope with the bones by boiling all the small fish in a muslin bag and placing that in the colander to drain. She presses all the liquid out and then just tosses the whole thing in the garbage bin.