Serves 4

100g live mussels

100ml light olive oil

½ onion, finely chopped

2 cloves of garlic

¼ fennel bulb, finely chopped

1 carrot, peeled and chopped

1 tablespoon tomato purée

2 star anise

A pinch of saffron threads

A pinch of cayenne pepper

100ml white wine

50ml Pernod

3 plum tomatoes, roughly chopped

500ml fish stock

500g fish, such as monkfish, cod, bream or mullet, cut into chunks

Salt and freshly ground black pepper

To serve

Garlic mayonnaise

Freshly grated Gruyère cheese

Crusty bread

Wash the mussels in cold water, scrubbing the shells. Pull away the fibrous beards and rinse thoroughly to remove any sand. Discard any broken ones. Heat half the olive oil in a large pan. Add the onion, garlic, fennel and carrot and gently cook for 10 minutes. Add the tomato purée, star anise, saffron and cayenne pepper and cook for 2–3 minutes. Add the white wine and Pernod, bring to the boil and let it reduce for 2–3 minutes. Finally add the chopped tomatoes and fish stock. Bring to the boil and gently simmer for 20 minutes. Heat the rest of the olive oil in a frying pan. Season the chunks of fish and cook for 2 minutes until caramelised. Add to the soup along with the mussels. Simmer for 5 minutes or until the mussels open (discard any that stay closed).

Serve in bowls with a dollop of garlic mayonnaise in each and scattered with grated Gruyère cheese. Provide crusty bread to mop up the juices.