2 gurnard, about 700–800g each, scaled, gutted, filleted and pin-boned
Light rapeseed oil for cooking
2 white onions, peeled and chopped
2 carrots, peeled and chopped
1 red chilli, deseeded and chopped
1 red pepper, cored, deseeded and chopped
10 ripe tomatoes, chopped
4 garlic cloves, peeled and crushed
1 tbsp good quality tomato purée
1 bay leaf
1 rosemary sprig
1 Finely pared zest and juice of orange
g fish stock
g samphire,washed and trimmed
g small orange, peel and pith removed, segmented
Cornish sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
Method
1
Step 1
Heat a medium-large saucepan over a medium heat.
2
Step 2
When hot, add a drizzle of oil, then the onions, carrots, chilli, red pepper and garlic.
3
Step 3
Cook for 5 minutes to soften, stirring every minute to avoid the vegetables catching.
4
Step 4
Next add the fish bones and heads, along with the tomato purée, and cook for another 5 minutes, stirring again every minute.
5
Step 5
Now add the tomatoes, bay leaf, rosemary sprig and orange zest and juice.
6
Step 6
Cook for a further 5 minutes, giving the mixture a good stir every couple of minutes.
7
Step 7
Pour in the fish stock and bring to a simmer.
8
Step 8
Lower the heat and cook for 20 minutes.
9
Step 9
Pass the soup through a mouli or a large potato ricer into another saucepan. (If you don’t have a mouli or potato ricer, you can blitz the soup in a blender, then pass it through a sieve but you won’t achieve quite the same clarity.)
10
Step 10
Taste the soup and correct the seasoning with salt and pepper. Keep warm over a low heat.
11
Step 11
To cook the samphire, add to a pan of boiling water, bring back to the boil and cook for 1 minute, drain and keep warm.
12
Step 12
To cook the fish, heat a non-stick frying pan over a medium heat. When hot, add a little oil and place the fillets in the pan, skin side down.
13
Step 13
Cook for 3 minutes until the skin starts to crisp up, then flip the fish over and cook for a further minute.
14
Step 14
Take off the heat, keeping the fish in the pan to finish cooking in the residual heat as you serve up the soup.
15
Step 15
Divide the soup between warmed soup plates, scatter half of the samphire in the centre and place the fish on top.
16
Step 16
Finish with the remaining samphire and a few pieces of orange.
17
Step 17
Serve at once.
Ingredients
2 gurnard, about 700–800g each, scaled, gutted, filleted and pin-boned
Light rapeseed oil for cooking
2 white onions, peeled and chopped
2 carrots, peeled and chopped
1 red chilli, deseeded and chopped
1 red pepper, cored, deseeded and chopped
10 ripe tomatoes, chopped
4 garlic cloves, peeled and crushed
1 tbsp good quality tomato purée
1 bay leaf
1 rosemary sprig
1 Finely pared zest and juice of orange
1000 g fish stock
200 g samphire,washed and trimmed
1 g small orange, peel and pith removed, segmented