A hearty Belgian soup.

3 cloves garlic, finely chopped
2 tbsp. anise seed, roughly crushed
1 can crushed plum tomatoes, preferably peeled
1 1/2 lb. any white fish fillets, cut into bite-size pieces
1 or 2 bay leaves
3 oz. orange juice
Dried oregano
Milk or cream

Soften the onion and garlic, without browning them, in melted butter. Add the anise seed. Add the crushed tomatoes and the fish. Add water to cover. Season with salt and ground black pepper to taste. Toss in the orange juice, bay leaves, and a sprinkling of the oregano. Bring to a boil and simmer for about 20 minutes, or until the fish is cooked. Now pull out the bay leaves.

At this stage, the soup looks and tastes good enough to eat as it is, but please resist the temptation. Pour the whole thing into a blender and reduce it to a pale pink mush. Return it to the pan and add milk to dilute it to a soup consistency rather than that of a stew.

This soup refrigerates extremely well.