Aljotta ("jo" as in "Yo!") is a traditional Maltese light fish soup with roots in french bouillabaisse and similarly refers to the method of serving the fish that are cooked in it. The most appropriate fish to use for both the stock and the accompanying meal are 'clean' white fish that don't turn the broth cloudy, ideally stargazers, monkfish, red gurnard, and moray eels but also hake, mullets, cod and haddock. There are a some variants; restaurant versions could very well include lemon juice and shellfish which I don't associate with aljotta. Rice eventually became a staple with it and how much you put in is up to you. I recommend just a little. In fact, there are no ingredient amounts; the picture should give you an idea of the density you're going for. **Fresh herbs are a must**.
2. Prepare the stock, possibly the day before, by boiling fish and fish bones in a tall stock pot on medium heat for 1-2 hours. It's customary to have loose chunks of fish in the soup so you can boil the fish and separate the meat as it starts to cook. As an example, the head, tail, skin and spine from the [anglerfish fillet recipe](/fried-anglerfish-fillet) were used to make stock, then half a fillet and meat that separated from the offal became part of the soup.
5. Add the fish and let simmer on low heat until the fish are cooked thoroughly, being careful not to break them. Turn the heat off and add the olive oil.
