Dalmatian fish soup with rice (Riblja juha)

1. Clean the fish; if whole, cut off the head and backbone and set the fillets aside. Put the head, backbone (or part of the fish) in a pot with the quartered onion, carrot, parsley root, bay leaves and salt, and cover with about 2 litres of cold water.

2. Bring to the boil, skim and simmer over low heat for 30 minutes, then strain through a fine sieve; set the vegetables aside (you can slice the carrot and return it).

3. In another pot, fry the crushed garlic in 2 tablespoons of olive oil for 1 minute, add the peeled, diced tomato and cook for 3 minutes.

4. Pour in the fish stock and white wine, add the washed rice and cook for 12 minutes.

5. Add the fish fillets cut into bite-sized pieces and cook for another 5-6 minutes until the fish is just done; season with pepper and the lemon juice.

6. Serve hot, drizzled with the remaining olive oil and sprinkled with chopped parsley.

Tip: Dalmatian fishermen make this soup from the smaller, bonier fish of the day's catch – the more kinds of fish, the richer it gets. You can use small soup pasta instead of rice.