Name: Pan-fried Red Mullet with a Tomato and Leek Soup
Yield: Serves 6
Cuisine: British
Ingredients: 1.2 litres (2 pints) Fish Stock; Lemon juice; Few Sprigs of tarragon; 2 measures of Pernod; ¼ teaspoon dried chilli flakes; 2 strips of orange peel; pinch of saffron strands; Few Sprigs of basil; ¼ teaspoon crushed coriander seeds; 1 star anise; Red mullet bones from fillets, with heads; 3 X 450 g (1 lb) red mullet, filleted, scaled and pin-boned; 4 shallots, finely sliced; 2 celery sticks, finely sliced; 1 small fennel bulb, finely sliced; 6 X Garlic Cream Potato Cakes, to serve; 2 medium carrots, finely sliced; Plain flour, for coating Butter; 2–3 tablespoons olive oil; Salt and pepper; 25 g (1 oz) butter (optional); 1 large leek, cut into 1 cm (½ in) dice; 2 glasses of white wine; 2 teaspoons tomato purée; 6 ripe large tomatoes, preferably plum, cut into 8; 4 plum tomatoes, blanched and peeled

Preparation info

Serves
6

Difficulty
Medium

Appears in

New British Classics

By Gary Rhodes

Published 1999

About

Red mullet have been called ‘the woodcock of the sea’ because, like the game bird, they are traditionally cooked whole, not gutted, which lends flavour. Here, though, they are filleted, and the fillets are pan-fried, then placed on top of a potato cake, and served with tomato and leek soup. It makes a good main course.

This dish is not quite as simple as it sounds. The tomato and leek soup is made from a long, slow-cooking, mullet soup base. The ingredients are similar to those for