Brasserie Blanc, Raymond Blanc’s group of authentic French brasseries, has just launched Les Classiques, a range of typically French classics resurrected and refreshed for 2015.
H&C News is here pleased to present the recipe for Mediterranean Fish Soup.
Ingredients
For the tomato fondue:
- 25g large onions – peeled and diced into 1cm blocks
- 1.5g garlic – peeled and finely chopped
- 7.5ml extra virgin olive oil
- 2 bay leaves
- 1 whole thyme sprig
- 100g plum tomatoes, roughly chopped
- 10g tomato puree
- A pinch of salt
- A pinch of caster sugar
- 20ml water
For the soup:
- 250g fish bones, plus the fillets cut into large chunks
- 35ml extra virgin olive oil
- 35g fennel – diced into 1cm blocks
- 175g large onion – diced into 1cm blocks
- 25g garlic – peeled and crushed
- A pinch of fennel seeds
- A pinch of star anise
- A sprig of whole thyme
- 1 packet pure saffron powder (12.5g)
- 45g tomato puree
- 25g extra virgin olive oil
- 125ml tomato fondue
- A pinch of Cayenne pepper
- A teaspoon of Pernod – boiled for 10 seconds
- A teaspoon of salt
For the saffron & garlic rouille:
- 2 large egg yolks
- 15g garlic – peeled and crushed
- 0.125 of saffron powder
- 3 pinches of salt
- 2 pinches of cayenne pepper
- 35ml boiling water
- 285ml of extra virgin olive oil
For the garlic oil:
- 100ml extra virgin olive oil
- 10g garlic – peeled and crushed
- A pinch of salt
For the garlic croutons:
- A baguette
- 50ml of garlic oil
Method
1. Tomato Fondue
- Sweat the onions, garlic, thyme and bay leaf in olive oil for three minutes, without colouring
- Add all remaining ingredients for the tomato fondue
- Bring to the boil, cover with a lid
- Turn down the heat and simmer gently for 25 minutes
2. Soup
- Sweat the fennel, onion, garlic, star anise, thyme and saffron powder for 15 minutes, in the first quantity of olive oil
- Meanwhile cook the tomato paste in the remaining oil, for 15 minutes
- Add the chopped fish to the vegetables and cook for a further 5 minutes
- Add the cooked tomato paste and all the remaining ingredients
- Cover with boiling water
- Return to the boil, skim, reduce the heat and simmer for 30 minutes
- Blend in a liquidiser in batches for 3-4 minutes per batch or until smooth
- Pass through a fine sieve, pressing well to extract as much liquid as possible
- Reserve until needed, refrigerating if necessary
3. Saffron & Garlic Rouille
- Whisk together the egg yolks, garlic and saffron powder
- Add salt and cayenne pepper
- Slowly add a quarter of the olive oil, whisking continuously
- Followed by the boiling water, and the remaining olive oil
- Reserve until required, refrigerate if necessary
4. Garlic Oil
- Mix the garlic with the olive oil
- Warm to 80°C for 20 minutes
- Leave to marinate for 2 hours
- Strain into a clean container
5. Garlic Croutons
- Cut the baguette diagonally into 4mm thick slices
- Place them onto a grilling tray
- Brush them lightly with garlic oil
- Toast under the grill until golden
- Reserve until required
To serve
- Reheat the soup until piping hot and then blend in the rouille
- Divide into bowls and serve with more rouille, grated Gruyère cheese and garlic croutons
For more information on Les Classiques from Brasserie Blanc click here
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Marcus Wareing, Mark Poynton and Angela Hartnet