Serves two
Ingredients
2 fillets of red and grey mullet (filleted and pinned)
0.5kg of new potatoes
1 vanilla pod
Parsley
Parmesan cheese
For the bouillabaisse sauce
1 fennel (roughly chopped)
1 onion (roughly chopped)
2 cloves garlic (crushed)
1 leek (roughly chopped)
Pinch of saffron
1 orange (zest peeled)
500g of fish trimmings (black bream, red bream, cod, hake, gurnard, red mullet, bass, skate, grey mullet)
300g prawns (shell on)
A sprig of thyme
2 bay leaves
50ml Pernod
Half a bottle of white wine
1l of fish stock
1 can of tomatoes (chopped and peeled)
250g of clams (washed, scraped and bearded)
Method
To prepare the bouillabaisse sauce, heat the olive oil in a large pan and add the onion, garlic, leek, saffron and fennel. Cook gently for 10 minutes or until the vegetables are soft, but not coloured. Stir in the tomatoes, all the prawn shells and fish trimmings, the thyme and bay leaves. Add the orange zest, fish stock and white wine. Bring to the boil and simmer gently, uncovered, for 30-40 minutes, skimming the surface occasionally to remove any froth.
When the fish broth has reduced to about half the amount, remove from the heat, blitz and strain into a clean pan. Add the Pernod, taste and season accordingly. Return to a simmer and add the clams. Bring back up to a simmer.
Cook for a further 2 minutes or until the clams have opened.
To prepare the crushed new potatoes, boil the new potatoes with a little salt until soft. Peel when warm then mash with a fork adding 1 vanilla pod and butter to taste, season with salt and pepper.
To serve, place the mullet fillets onto a buttered pan (skin side up) season and grill until cooked (3-4 minutes). Place the fish on the crushed potatoes and pour the sauce around the side. Finish with a sprinkle of Parmesan cheese and parsley.
Get the taste
Grahams at the Duke of York
Southend Road
Billericay
CM11 2PR
01277 888 076
