(Serves 4)

Half head Celery
1 Bulb Fennel
1 Med Onion
1 Med Potato
60g (2 oz.) Butter
1 Large Mackerel
Salt and Pepper

Chop the celery and fennel into chunks, peel the onion and potato, and chop roughly and put these in a saucepan with the butter over a gentle heat, cover well with a lid and let them sweat together until soft. Check and stir the pot from time to time to make sure it isn’t sticking.
Cover the Mackerel with water in a pan and bring to a simmer.
Simmer for 5 mts then take out the fish and let it cool, but keep the cooking water.
When cool remove the head tail and put into the cooking water.
Put this back on the heat and boil hard for another five minutes to make a fish stock.
Now carefully flake the cooked mackerel and discard all the bones.
Strain the fish stock over the vegetables, bring this back to the boil and season and liquidise it.

To serve divide the flaked fish between 4 hot soup plates.Ladel over the hot soup, and sprinkle over a little chopped fennel green (saved from the bulb)
This is a delicate and subtle soup, a fish soup for people who think they don’t like fish soup.