Serves 8-10
1/2 -1 kilo lobster, uncooked
1-1 1/2 kilos mussels
1 large gurnard
1/2 kilo monkfish or turbot
1/2 kilo red mullet
good kilo fish bones, heads, trimmings
1 large onion, chopped
2 medium carrots, diced small
white part of 2 leeks, diced small
2 medium stalks celery, diced small
olive oil
175ml dry white wine
large pinch saffron
tbsp lemon juice
2 tbsps Pernod
1 head fennel, outer layer removed, then diced
250g tomato, skinned, seeded, chopped
salt, pepper, cayenne
garlic croutons
Ask the fishmonger to cut the lobster across into slices, and crack the claws, if you feel unable to tackle this yourself. Tie the bits into a piece of butter muslin, loosely. Scrub and scrape the mussels, discarding any that are cracked or stay open. Tie them into another piece of butter muslin, leaving plenty of room for them to open. Scale, clean and fillet the remaining fish, putting skin, bones, heads etc. into a large pan with the fish trimmings and 2 litres of water.
Make a stock while you cut the fillets into convenient pieces.
Sweat the onion and diced vegetables in a little olive oil, they should soften and turn golden without browning. Strain the fish stock. Add wine, saffron and lemon juice. When everything is boiling, put in the bag of mussels and boil for 2 minutes. Remove and cool. Do the same with the bag of lobster, leaving it to boil for 3 minutes before removing it. Reduce the stock, strain the liquor off into a clean pot, pushing through a certain amount of the debris to give it a little body.
Open the bag of mussels, discard all but 8-10 of the shells. Put into a bowl. Open the lobster bag, clean away any debris, but leave most of the lobster in its shell. Add to the mussels. Up to this point, the recipe can be prepared in advance, but only by an hour or two. Bring the liquor up to boiling point. Add Pernod, fennel and tomato and boil for 10 minutes. Check the seasoning, adding extra lemon juice or Pernod, if necessary. Add salt and pepper, a pinch or two of cayenne. Put in the monkfish or turbot pieces. Leave 1 minute. Put in the red mullet, leave for 1 minute. Then the gurnard, and leave 30 seconds. Switch off the heat, stir in mussels and lobster. Taste again, and serve with croutons.
