Fish Veloute

Photo: flickr user Nick J Webb

Ingredients

40 grams butter

1 small onion chopped

2 shallots chopped

1 small leek (not too much green) chopped

200 grams white fish trimmings including if possble the white muscle part from 250 ml Noilly Prat

500 ml double cream

1 sprg fresh rosemary

1 clv garlic

1 salt and cayenne pepper

1 juice of 1/4 lemon

Preparation

Melt the butter in a frying pan add the onion shallots and leek and cook until soft but not coloured.

Add the fish trimmings.

Cook for 23 minutes.

Add the Noilly Prat and reduce until almost all the liquid has evapourated.

Add the cream and bring to the boil then simmer for a further 34 minutes and remove from the heat.

Add the rosemary garlic salt and cayenne pepper.

Cover the pan and leave to infuse for at least 20 minutes.

Pass through a double layer of muslin and add a little lemon juice to taste.

This is probably my single greatest sauce. Although one sees and tastes many such sauces in the great restaurants of the world I have never come across such a flavoursome and aromatic one as this. When you sprinkle chopped chives over it just before serving it takes on another dimension.

Serves 4