Seafood soup served with garlic mayonnaise and crusty bread

Mussels are a delicious added ingredient, but as I am allergic to these mollusks (and so are many people), I cook them separately by adding the raw mussels to some garlic fried in butter and white wine, then I add them to the individual plates of the other guests.

Serves 4

The stock:
⅓ cup/80 ml olive oil
1 onion, roughly chopped
1 rasher of bacon, finely chopped
1 leek, roughly chopped
2 celery stalks, thinly sliced
1 tablespoon/15 ml fennel seeds
6 cloves garlic, chopped
1 tablespoon/15 ml orange zest
8 ripe tomatoes, skinned and chopped
1 tablespoon/15 ml tomato paste
1 medium-hot red chilli, seeded and chopped
1 teaspoon/5 ml saffron strands
1 sprigs of thyme
2 bay leaves
4 cups/1 liter fish stock
15 g/½ oz butter
2 tablespoons/30 ml olive oil
2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
reserved shells of prawns and crab
¼ cup/60 ml white wine
1 teaspoon/5 ml oregano, chopped
1 teaspoon/5 ml  Pernod

Pernod can be quite overpowering. Add a little at a time then taste and add more if you desire.

3 ripe tomatoes, skinned, seeded and diced chopped
salt and freshly ground black pepper

The seafood:
500 g/1 lb firm white fish
8 large prawns, shelled and de-veined, reserve shells for stock
8 calamari tubes and heads, tubes cut into rings
1 leg King crab, flesh removed and shells reserved for stock

The aïoli (garlic mayonnaise):
2 egg yolks
½ teaspoon salt
2 cloves garlic (more if you wish)
2 teaspoons/10 ml lemon juice
1 cup groundnut oil

This mayonnaise recipe contains raw eggs and is not suitable for pregnant women, the elderly or very young children.

The garnish:
2 tablespoons/30 ml fresh coriander, finely chopped
2 tablespoons/30 ml dill, finely chopped
crusty white bread

In a large saucepan, heat the oil and saute the onions, bacon, leeks, celery, fennel seeds and garlic until soft.  Add the orange zest, tomatoes, tomato paste, chili, saffron, thyme, bay leaves and stock and bring to the boil.  Boil for 10 minutes, then remove from the heat and set aside.

In a frying pan, heat the butter and olive oil and saute the garlic, shells of the prawns and crab until golden and aromatic.  Deglaze the pan with the wine and reduce until half the wine has evaporated.  Add all the contents to the tomato mixture, strain thoroughly and discard the solids.  Add the liquid to the stock.

In a frying pan, heat the olive oil and add the fish.  Stir fry for about 1 minute, then remove with a slotted spoon and set aside.  Reheat the pan (add some more oil if necessary) and add the prawns, stir fry for about 1 minute then remove with a slotted spoon and set aside.  Repeat with the calamari rings and pieces of crab but cook this for only 30 seconds.  Remove with a slotted spoon and reserve with the rest of the seafood. 

If you find that some bits are beginning to stick to the bottom of the pan, deglaze the pan with a little boiling water and empty the contents of the pan into the unstrained stock (just make sure that there are no burnt bits). Heat some more oil and fry the rest of the seafood. Repeat the process if necessary.

Deglaze the pan with one cup of the reserved stock then add to the rest of the stock.  Bring it all to a gentle simmer and stir in the oregano, Pernod, tomato, chilli and the cooked seafood.  Remove from the heat and season to taste with salt and freshly ground black pepper.

In a food processor, blend together the egg yolks, salt, garlic and lemon juice. Add the oil in a thin steady stream while the machine keeps running.  Continue until all the oil is incorporated.

To serve:
Serve the soup in deep bowls with the fresh coriander and dill scattered over.  Serve the crusty bread and small bowls filled with the aïoli on the side.