Seafood Soup With Thyme Pesto - cooking recipe

Ingredients

4 tbsp fresh chopped thyme leaves, plus a few extra sprigs
1 tbsp olive oil
150 g creme fraiche
5 cloves garlic, peeled and crushed
2 None onions, peeled and chopped
375 g carrots, peeled and chopped
6 None celery stick, chopped
1 None slice lemon
1/2 tsp black peppercorns
750 g piece haddock fillet
30 g butter
250 g salmon fillet, skinned and cubed
200 g large cooked peeled prawns

Preparation

To make the pesto, mix the chopped thyme leaves with the olive oil, creme fraiche or sour cream, and nearly all the crushed garlic. Season with salt and freshly ground black pepper and cover and set aside.
To make the soup, pour 6 1/2 cups water into a large deep pan. Add half the chopped onion, the remaining crushed garlic, 1 chopped carrot and 1 chopped stick of celery. Add the thyme stalks, lemon slice and peppercorns and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer for 2 mins. Add the haddock and cover and simmer gently for 20-25 mins until the haddock is just cooked. Remove the haddock from the liquid with a slotted spoon and set aside. Strain the liquid into a large bowl, discarding the vegetables. Roughly flake the haddock, discarding any skin and bones.
Melt the butter in the cleaned pan and fry the remaining onion for 5 mins. Add the rest of the chopped vegetables and fry for a further 4-5 mins, until beginning to soften. Pour in the strained fish stock and bring to a boil. Season with salt and pepper, cover and cook for 10 mins.
Add the cubed salmon and shrimp to the soup and simmer for 5 mins. Stir in the haddock. Simmer for 1-2 mins, then serve the soup in warmed bowls topped with the thyme pesto.