Smoked eel and apple soup

Method

1. Gently fry the shallot and thyme in the butter for 2-3 minutes to soften without colouring. Add the apple, stir and cover with a lid. Cook for a further 5 minutes.

2. Meanwhile, cut off the eel head, peel the skin away and remove the flesh from the bone by running a knife down both sides of the backbone. Add the eel head, bone and skin to the apples, cover and cook for another 2 minutes.

3. Chop half of the smoked eel flesh roughly and add this to the pan. Pour in the hot chicken stock and the cream and bring up to the boil. Simmer for 3-4 minutes. Season with a little salt.

4. Pick out the head, skin, bones and thyme sprigs and transfer the soup to a blender. Blend until smooth and pass through a sieve. Add a squeeze of lemon juice to freshen the taste and check the seasoning.

5. Dice the remaining smoked eel and put in the bottom of the serving bowls. Ladle over the hot soup and scatter with a little lemon zest.