Potage of mussels and salt cod with Whitby crab croutes
This thick seafood soup recipe has refreshing notes of fennel and star anise and is garnished with a little crab and parsley sourdough croute. Mussels pair beautifully with the salt cod fillets in this extraordinary seafood dish from award-winning chef Frances Atkins.
Ingredients
Potage of mussels and salt cod
- 1000g of mussels
- 190ml of white wine
- 2 shallots
- 1/2 bulb of fennel
- 1 bunch of thyme
- 2 star anise
- 300ml of whipping cream
- 250g of salt cod fillet
- 8 sun-dried tomatoes
Crab croutes
- 4 slices of sourdough bread
- 3 tbsp of olive oil
- 200g of white crab meat
- 4 sprigs of flat-leaf parsley
Method
1
To make the sourdough croutes, heat the olive oil in a large pan, add the sliced bread and fry on a medium-high heat for 2 minutes on each side until the bread is golden and crunchy
- 4 slices of sourdough bread
- 3 tbsp of olive oil
2
Now clean the mussels, scrubbing with a brush and scraping off any stubborn pieces of debris that may be stuck to the shells. Check for any remaining beards and remove by firmly grasping the fibres and pulling out. Give the mussels a final rinse and heat a stainless steel pan with a lid over a medium heat
- 1000g of mussels
3
Place the mussels in the hot pan and pour in the wine. Place the lid firmly on top of the pan and cook for 10 minutes, until the mussels have opened
- 190ml of white wine
4
When cool enough to handle, remove the mussels from their shells, ensuring any damaged or closed ones are discarded
5
Chop the shallots, fennel and thyme leaves
- 2 shallots
- 1/2 bulb of fennel
- 1 bunch of thyme
6
Pass the cooking liquid through a sieve into a clean pan and place over a medium-high heat. Add the shallots, fennel, thyme and star anise to the pan
7
Reduce the liquid slightly, add the cream and reduce again
- 300ml of whipping cream
8
Add the shelled mussels to the sauce. Chop the salt cod into chunks and add to the pan, along with the roughly chopped sun-dried tomatoes
- 250g of salt cod fillet
- 8 sun-dried tomatoes
9
Pour the potage into serving bowls and divide the crab between the sourdough croutes. Garnish with parsley, lay one croute on top of each bowl and serve
- 4 sprigs of flat-leaf parsley
- 200g of white crab meat
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Potage of mussels and salt cod with Whitby crab croutes
