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Home / Eat Well / Recipes

Simon's fish soup

for 6 people

Vanessa Lewis

Simon Gault
By
Simon Gault

Chef and Restauranteur

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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 mlExtra virgin olive oil
1Onion, roughly chopped
3Garlic cloves, roughly chopped
2Fennel bulbs, thinly sliced
4Celery stalks, thinly sliced
1Leek, thinly sliced
5Carrots, thinly sliced
250 gTomato paste
1 ⅓ LtrFish stock (Main)
200 mlWhite wine (Main)
50 mlDry vermouth (Main)
330 gHot-smoked salmon fillets (Main)
1 bunchFennel leaves, a small bunch, roughly chopped (or 1 Tbsp chopped parsley) (Main)
500 mlCream
50 mlPernod liqueur (Main)

For the whitebait (optional)

1 ½ TbspFlour
100 gWhitebait (Main)
150 mlCanola oil

For the assembly

12Scallops, cut in half (Main)
1 TbspExtra virgin olive oil
12Prawns, uncooked (Main)
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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.
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