Simon's fish soup

Vanessa Lewis

This is from an old book of mine Simon Cooks. I think it's really good and thought it was time to bring it out again. Top tip is that the soup base can be made in advance and will keep in the fridge for three days.

Also try Simon's whitebait rolls.

For the soup base

50 ml	Extra virgin olive oil
1	Onion, roughly chopped
3	Garlic cloves, roughly chopped
2	Fennel bulbs, thinly sliced
4	Celery stalks, thinly sliced
1	Leek, thinly sliced
5	Carrots, thinly sliced
250 g	Tomato paste
1 ⅓ Ltr	Fish stock (Main)
200 ml	White wine (Main)
50 ml	Dry vermouth (Main)
330 g	Hot-smoked salmon fillets (Main)
1 bunch	Fennel leaves, a small bunch, roughly chopped (or 1 Tbsp chopped parsley) (Main)
500 ml	Cream
50 ml	Pernod liqueur (Main)

For the whitebait (optional)

1 ½ Tbsp	Flour
100 g	Whitebait (Main)
150 ml	Canola oil

For the assembly

12	Scallops, cut in half (Main)
1 Tbsp	Extra virgin olive oil
12	Prawns, uncooked (Main)

Directions

1. Heat the olive oil in a saucepan until shimmering.
2. Add the onion and garlic, saute till transparent. Add the fennel, celery, leek and carrots and saute for 3 minutes.
3. Add the tomato paste and cook, stirring continuously on a medium heat for 4 minutes.
4. Add the fish stock, white wine and vermouth, bring to a simmer and cook for 30 minutes.
5. Place in a blender along with the smoked salmon and blend until smooth.
6. Return to the saucepan and bring back to a simmer. Add the fennel (or parsley), cream and Pernod and simmer for a further 2 minutes. Season to taste with salt and pepper.
7. For the whitebait, place the flour in a plastic bag and add the whitebait. Seal the bag and shake for 30 seconds until the whitebait is covered in flour. Remove from the bag, discarding any excess flour.
8. Heat the canola oil in a frying pan until shimmering.
9. Add the floured whitebait to the oil for 5 seconds, then drain the whitebait in a sieve.
10. To assemble the soup, reheat the soup base for 2 minutes. Add the scallops, remove the soup from the heat and let it stand for a minute while the scallops cook in the soup.
11. In a fry pan, heat the olive oil and saute the prawns for 3 minutes.
12. Ladle the soup into the bowls, placing 2 prawns on top of each bowl.
13. Divide the whitebait between the bowls and serve.