Beside the Seaside Soup - With deep fried samphire and seaweed crisps

Serves 4.

📝 Ingredients

• 1 shallot, finely chopped
• 2 cloves garlic, chopped
• Rapeseed oil
• 4 tomatoes, halved and roasted until soft
• 1 fennel bulb, finely sliced
• 100 ml white wine
• 500 ml (approx) Essential Cuisine Fish Stock
• Selection of sustainability sourced British seafood – mussels, cockles, Pollack, red mullet, halibut, sea bream or sea bass (approximately 400g of mixed shellfish and 600g of filleted fish cut into 6cm chunks)
• Sea salt and pepper
• For the Deep Fried Samphire
• 75 g plain flour
• 100 ml cold sparkling water
• 1 tablespoon lemon juice
• 8 sprigs of samphire, washed and trimmed
• Vegetable oil for frying
• For the seaweed crisps
• A length of sugar kelp or spiral wrack, rinsed and dried

👨‍🍳 Instructions

1. 1Clean the mussels and cockles in plenty of clean cold water, scrubbing the shells and removing any beards from the mussels.
2. 2In a large, wide pan, sweat the shallots and garlic in a little rapeseed oil.
3. 3Add the chopped tomatoes and sliced fennel and stir together. Add the wine and simmer gently for 2 minutes.
4. 4Make up about 500ml of fish stock using boiling water and Essential Cuisine Fish Stock.
5. 5Add the fish in a single layer in the based of the pan, putting the mussels and cockles on top and add enough fish stock to just cover the fish fillets, not the shellfish. Cover with a lid and simmer for 8-10 minutes. Make sure all the shellfish are open.
6. 6Season to taste.
7. 7To make the deep fried samphire
8. 8Place the flour into a mixing bowl, add the lemon juice, pour in the sparkling water and whisk together until smooth.
9. 9Meanwhile, heat some vegetable oil in a heavy-bottomed pan to 160'C. When the oil is up to temperature, drop the samphire sprigs into the batter one at a time carefuly drop then into the oil.
10. 10When they have risen to the surface and are crisp lift them out of the oil and drain on some kitchen paper. Season with a little sea salt.
11. 11To make the seaweed crisps
12. 12Heat some vegetable oil in a heavy-bottomed pan to 180'c.
13. 13Use scissors to cut the seaweed into even-sized pieces. Drop the seaweed into the oil a few pieces at a time and fry for a few seconds. Remove and drain on kitchen paper. Use immediately.
14. 14Serve the soup in individual bowls, garnished with the deep fried samphire and seaweed chips and accompanied by seaweed bread.
15. 15Essential Tip
16. 16Add chunks of parboiled potatoes to the fish to turn the dish into a hearty main course.