Raymond Blanc's fish soup recipe

This fish soup from Kitchen Secret's chef Raymond Blanc, comes with aïoli, a mayonnaise with garlic and olive oil that you mix in to the soup to make it delicious - worth the effort if you want to impress your dinner party guests

Ingredients

For the fish soup:

• 1 large Spanish onion, finely chopped
• 1 bulb fennel, finely chopped
• 1 small stick celery, finely chopped
• 1 carrot, finely chopped
• 5 cloves garlic, crushed
• 2 sprigs thyme
• 1 bay leaf
• 100ml olive oil
• 1 packet saffron powder (0.25g)
• 500g gurnard fillets, chopped (good-tasting British fish)
• 500g grey mullet fillets, chopped
• 300g tomatoes, chopped
• 300ml dry white wine, boiled for 30 seconds
• 1.2lt cold water
• 4 pinches sea salt
• 3 pinches cayenne pepper
• 1tbsp Pernod (French aniseed-based alcoholic drink)

For the aïoli

(all ingredients must be at room temperature)

:

• 2 egg yolks
• 3 gloves garlic, puréed
• 1 pinch salt
• 250ml extra virgin olive oil
• Juice of ¼ lemon
• 1 pinch cayenne pepper

For the garnish:

• 30 toasted croutons
• 100g Gruyère cheese, grated

You'll also need:

• Fine sieve
• 30cm casserole dish
• Liquidizer (optional)

Method

1. For the fish soup: Sweat the onions, fennel, celery, carrot, garlic, thyme and bay leaf in the olive oil for 5 mins. Stir in the saffron, add the chopped fish and stir again, then cook for another 5 mins. Add the tomatoes, white wine and cold water and season with salt and cayenne pepper. Taste.
2. Lastly add the Pernod, bring to the boil for 2 mins, skim, then barely simmer for 20 mins on top of the stove.
3. Take off the heat, then you can either strain the soup by passing it through a fine sieve, or you can give it more flavour and texture by lightly liquidizing it for 2 secs.
4. For the Aïoli: In a bowl, mix the egg yolks with the garlic and salt, then pour in the olive oil in a steady trickle, still stirring, until the oil is absorbed and thickens.
5. Whisk in the lemon juice and cayenne pepper.Taste and correct the seasoning.
6. To serve: Heat the soup and serve the aïoli separately, or use a hand-held blender to liquidize the aïoli into the soup. Serve with the croutons and Gruyère cheese.