Ingredients

• 1 tbsp olive oil
• 50g/1¾oz butter
• 2 shallots
• chopped
• 1 fennel bulb
• finely chopped
• 1 tbsp tomato purée
• 500g/1lb 2oz crayfish shells
• taken from the fresh crayfish tails (below)
• 2 tbsp brandy
• 1 litre/1¾ pints fish stock
• 2 bay leaves
• 2 sprigs fresh flatleaf parsley
• salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 200g/7oz buckwheat
• 100g/3½oz unsalted butter
• 4 baby fennel bulbs
• 100g/3½oz samphire
• dash olive oil
• 55g/2oz unsalted butter
• 100g/3½oz spinach
• 1 tsp fennel pollen (or ground fennel seeds)
• 4 tbsp chopped fennel tops
• 55g/2oz butter
• 2 wreck fish fillets (or sea bass)
• skin on
• pin boned
• 6 crayfish tails
• blanched

Directions

• For the crayfish bisque
• heat the oil and butter in a large frying pan and gently fry the shallots and fennel for 2-3 minutes. Add the tomato purée and cook
• stirring
• for a further minute. Add the crayfish shells and brandy and cook for another minute.
• Add the fish stock
• bay leaves and parsley and bring to a simmer. Cook for 20-25 minutes
• or until the volume of liquid has reduced by a third. Remove from the heat and allow to cool slightly.
• Pour the mixture into a food processor and blend to a fine purée. Pass the purée through a sieve into a clean saucepan and season with salt and pepper.
• Cook the buckwheat according to the packet instructions. Heat a large sauté pan and add the butter
• once it has turned brown add the cooked buckwheat and sauté for 2 minutes until coated in the butter and hot.
• Blanch the baby fennel in boiling water for 2 minutes and refresh in ice cold water. Once cooled pat dry. Do the same with the samphire.
• Heat a griddle pan. Oil the dry baby fennel and place on the griddle pan. Cook each side for 1-2 minutes
• or until char marks appear.
• Heat a large pan and add the butter
• once hot add the spinach and samphire and cook until the spinach is wilted.
• For the fish
• heat a large frying pan and add the butter. Once hot
• add the wreck fish fillets and crayfish tails and cook for 2 minutes on each side.
• To serve
• put some buckwheat on serving plates and top with the samphire and spinach
• then the wreck fish and crayfish and spoon the bisque over the top. Garnish with the baby fennel
• fennel pollen
• and fennel tops.