Sea bass, Red Mullet and Mussels with Bouillabaisse Sauce By Mark Dodson

You and your guests are in for a real treat with this fragrant fish soup recipe that we are delighted to bring to you by Mark Dodson. Provence inspired it makes for a wonderful dinner party main, garnished with crushed new season potatoes, leeks and monk’s beard.

Recipe courtesy of www.greatbritishchefs.com

Serves: 4

Cooking Time: 2 hours 20 minutes

Equipment

• 24cm Stainless Steel Tri-ply Frying Pan
• 24cm Copper Tri-ply Saute Pan
• 24cm Copper Tri-ply Stockpot

Ingredients

• 4 red mullet fillets, weighing approx. 100g each
• 2 sea bass fillets, halved
• 300g mussels
• 1 shallot, finely chopped
• 2 parsley stalks
• 40ml white wine
• Olive oil

Bouillon

• 400g fish bones and heads, from the sea bass and red mullet
• 300g onions, finely chopped
• 300g carrots, finely chopped
• 2 sticks of celery, finely chopped
• 2 garlic cloves, crushed
• 50g tomato purée
• 150ml white wine
• 1 splash of Pernod Ricard (optional)
• 1l fish stock
• 1 pinch of saffron
• Sea salt
• Freshly ground black pepper

Garnish

• 1 leek, sliced into 12 neat circles
• 12 cherry plum tomatoes, blanched and skinned
• 1 knob of butter
• 12 new potatoes
• 40g monks beard (a type of Mediterranean plant similar to samphire)

 Cooking Method

1. Begin by making the bouillon. Clean the fish bones and remove the gills from the heads by washing in running water until the water runs clear. Drain in a colander and give it a shake to remove any excess liquid. Pour a little olive oil in two large pans and place both over a medium heat.
2. Place the fish bones and heads in one pan and the onion, carrots, celery and garlic in the other. Cook both for 5 minutes, stirring regularly, then add the tomato purée to the vegetables. Deglaze the pan with the fish bones in with the white wine, then transfer the contents to the pan with the vegetables.
3. Add the Pernod (if using), fish stock and saffron and season with salt and pepper. Bring to a simmer then cook over a low heat for 2 hours, skimming off any scum, fat and oil that rises to the surface.
4. While the bouillon is simmering, prepare the mussels. Heat a little oil in a saucepan and sweat the shallot until translucent. Discard any mussels with open shells and add the rest into the pan. Give the pan a shake and add the white wine and parsley stalks. Cover and cook for 5 minutes or until the mussel shells open. Tip them into a colander set over a bowl to retain the liquor and leave to cool. Pour the liquor through a fine sieve into the bouillon and reserve the mussels until ready to serve.
5. Bring a pan of salted water to the boil and add the new potatoes. Cook for 15 minutes or until tender, then drain and refresh in iced water. When cool enough to handle, peel the potatoes then season and set aside for reheating later.
6. Once the bouillon has been simmering for a few hours remove from the heat and blitz with a hand blender until smooth. Pass through a fine sieve into a clean pan and reduce by one-third. Check for seasoning and set aside to reheat later.
7. Heat a knob of butter in a pan over a medium heat and add the leeks and monks beard. Add a pinch of salt and pour in just enough water to cover. Cook for 5 minutes until softened, then add the tomatoes and keep warm.
8. Place a frying pan over a medium heat and add a splash of oil. Season the fish fillets and cook skin-side down until crisp (about 5 minutes). Meanwhile, reheat the bouillon and add the mussels to warm through.

9. Place a separate frying pan over a medium heat. Pour in a splash of oil and add the potatoes, crushing them lightly in your hands as you do so. Flip the fish and continue to fry until just cooked.

To serve

Place the crushed potatoes in the centre of a bowl and lay the fish carefully on top. Arrange the leeks around the fillets and top with the tomatoes. Pour the bouillon gently around the fish and garnish with the monks beard. Alternatively, place the fish, leeks, tomatoes and monks beard into the pan with the bouillon and bring to the table with the crushed potatoes on the side. Serve immediately.