Mussel soup with crispy lamb recipe

A delicious mussel soup with crispy lamb pieces, the perfect showstopper starter or light main meal.

Ingredients

150g/5½oz white wine
1kg/2lb 4oz mussels, cleaned and debearded, discard any that are open or do not close when tapped on a hard surface
425g/15oz good quality olive oil
200g/7oz potatoes, washed, peeled and roughly sliced
100g/3½oz leeks, sliced
5g/⅛oz maple syrup
40ml/3 tbsp Japanese rice wine vinegar
2 tbsp dark soy sauce
pinch salt
3 tbsp citrus juice, from above

To make the mussel soup, mix the citrus juices together in a bowl and set aside.
Place a deep saucepan on a medium heat, add the wine and mussels to the pan. Steam the mussels for approximately 1 minute until they just open. Remove the mussels from their shells and set aside, discard the shells and any mussels that remain closed. Reserve the mussel stock.
Heat 100g/3½oz of the olive oil in a large lidded frying pan over a low heat and gently fry the potatoes and leeks with the lid on. Once softened, transfer to a blender, add the cooked mussels and maple syrup and blend whilst slowly adding the remaining olive oil. If needed add a little of the mussel stock to achieve the correct viscosity. Season with the salt, rice vinegar, soy sauce, mussel stock and citrus juice to taste. Keep warm.
To make the lamb breast, preheat the oven to 170C/150C Fan/Gas 3½ or plug in your slow cooker and set to high. Place all the ingredients into a roasting pan or slow cooker and cook for 3 hours. Once cooked remove from the oven, cool and press under a heavy weight overnight in the fridge.
Once pressed, cut the lamb into 1x2cm portions and place on a baking tray. Heat the grill to high and place the lamb under for 2 minutes or until crispy.
To make the parsley oil, blend the parsley and vegetable oil in a blender until smooth. the mixture through a fine sieve.
To serve, pour the soup into serving bowls and top with the crispy lamb pieces, bronze fennel, lovage and parsley oil.