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Red Mullet with Carabinero Prawn Bisque

4 people
Moderate

Prep time
20 mins

Cook time
1hr 15 mins

Total time
1hr 35 mins

Javier De La Hormaza

Recipe provided by

Javier De La Hormaza

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Ingredients

4 fillets of red mullet, skin on and pin boned
Olive oil and salt flakes
For the carabinero prawn bisque:
2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
Heads and shells of 12 large carabinero prawns
1 onion, finely chopped
1 leek, finely sliced
1 celery stalk, finely sliced
1 carrot, peeled and finely chopped
1 Garlic head, cut in two
100ml dry white wine
100ml brandy
1 beef tomatoes, chopped roughly
4 tbsp tomato paste
1 large piece stale sourdough bread, toasted
1 bay leaf
3 sprigs of thyme
3 sprigs of parsley
1 star anise
2 litres of fresh water
Salt

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Introduction

This is one of those dishes that you will remember for a long time! Pan fried red mullet served with a rich and silky carabinero prawn bisque is a marriage made in heaven. The rock fish flavour of the red mullet works incredibly well with the powerful prawn bisque.

Method

To make the bisque, heat the oil in a large stock pan over a low heat. Add the onion, leek, celery, carrots and garlic and gently sauté for about 10 minutes until soft and translucent. Add the prawn heads and shells and cook on a moderate heat for a further five minutes until golden brown.
Increase the heat, pour the brandy and flambé making sure you scrape the bottom of the pan with a wooden spoon to deglaze it. Reduce the brandy by half, pour the white wine and reduce by half again. Stir in the chopped tomatoes, tomato paste, toasted bread, water, herbs and spices. Bring to the stock to the boil, reduce the heat and simmer gently for 30 minutes, stirring every 5 minutes. Season with salt and add a pinch of sugar to balance the acidity of the tomatoes.
Using a potato masher, crush all the prawn heads, shells and vegetables to extract as much flavour as possible. Bring the bisque back to the boil and reduce by three quarters until you have 500ml of concentrated bisque. Strain the bisque through a fine-mesh sieve to get rid of any prawn shell fragments making sure you press with the back of a ladle to extract all the goodness from the prawn shells and vegetables. Return the bisque to a clean pan and place back on a high heat. Bring the bisque to the boil and reduce by half again until you have a sauce the consistency of double cream and set aside.
To cook the red mullet, season the fish on both sides and heat the oil in a large non-stick frying pan. When hot, pan fry the red mullet fillets skin side down for 3 minutes, make sure you press the flesh down on the pan to ensure the fish fillets stay flat and cook evenly. Turn the fillets and cook on the flesh side for one more minute and remove from the heat.
To serve, place a large spoon of the reduced carabinero prawn bisque on warm plates, top with one piece of red mullet and sprinkle some sea salt flakes.