METHOD

FOR THE COD

STEP ONE
Heat the oven to 220C/200C fan/gas 7. Tip the flour into a bowl and add some seasoning. Turn each cod fillet in the flour until evenly coated.

STEP 2
Heat half the oil in a non-stick frying pan over a medium-high heat. Add the cod and fry on each side for 2 mins or until golden brown.

STEP 3
Transfer the cod to a roasting tin. Arrange the lemon slices and thyme on and around the fish and drizzle with the remaining oil. Bake for 10 mins or until cooked through.

FOR THE LANGOUSTINE BISQUE

STEP ONE
Roughly chop the onion, garlic, fennel, leek and celery, and sweat down in a large heavy-based pot with a good splash of olive oil and seasoning, thyme and bay.
Once your soup base has begun to soften and is slightly beginning to colour, throw in the shells and cook out for around 10 minutes, stirring occasionally.
Stir in the tomato purée and cook out for a few minutes. Turn up the heat and add the brandy and cook until it has evaporated completely. Then add the vermouth and reduce by half.
Add the fish stock, bring to the boil and reduce to simmer. Using a ladle skim the foam off the top and discard. Simmer for 45 minutes to 1 hour, repeating the skimming periodically if needed. This removes any impurities that rise to the top during the cooking process.

STEP TWO
Once the broth is ready, pass it through a sieve into a saucepan. Using the back of the ladle to squeeze all the liquid through and return to the heat. Add the cream. Bring to a boil and reduce down until a good richness is achieved. For this refined sauce we reduced the bisque right down to be the consistency of double cream, creating an intense almost sauce like bisque. Stir in a knob of butter, add a squeeze of lemon and check the seasoning to finish. You can finish with some finely chopped parsley for colour & freshness.