Marcus Wareing's White Bean Soup with Mackerel, Red Peppers and Sherry on Toast

You can also use dried white beans if you prefer, but they will need to be soaked overnight prior to cooking.

You can ask your fishmonger to fillet the mackerel for you.

1. Heat a saucepan over a medium heat and add a glug of oil. When the pan is hot, add the onion and garlic and season generously with salt and pepper. Stir as the onions sweat, adding more oil if necessary.
2. Once the onions start to soften, add the white beans and turn up the heat. Pour in a generous glug of white wine and mix in the thyme. Allow the soup to reduce.
3. Cut three thick slices of crusty bread and place on a baking tray. Drizzle with olive oil and massage into the bread to allow it to soak.
4. Pour in the chicken stock and bring the soup to boil. Once it reaches boiling point, turn down the heat and let it simmer.
5. Place the mackerel on its side on a large chopping board, with the backbone pointing towards you. Position the knife behind the small fin and cut through the fish until you hit the backbone. With one hand on top of the fish to keep it steady, in one stroke, slice along the backbone until you reach the tail. Remove the first fillet and place to the side.
6. Cut the head off of the fish, rest your hand on top of the backbone, and carefully slice from the neck to tail of the fish. Remove the backbone from the second fillet. 
7. To remove the pin bones, rest the knife over the centre of one fillet on one side of where the backbone was. Make an incision on the other side, being careful not to cut the fish in half. Remove the long strip of bones from the fillet. Repeat for the other fillet.
8. Score the skin of the fish along the length of the fillet  and cut it in half. Repeat for the other fillet. Place the four fillets on a lined baking tray.
9. Add a glug of cream to the soup mixture, season to taste and turn up the heat so it can reach the boil. 
10. While waiting for the soup to boil, prepare the bread. Place the bread on the grill, turning over when one side becomes charred. Remove from the grill when both sides are golden brown.
11. When the soup reaches the boil, season with salt and pepper to taste. Use a hand blender to mix, adding in a couple of knobs of butter to make the soup richer. Add a little more stock and cream and blend until a foam forms on top of the mixture and the soup is velvety smooth. Remove soup from the heat and set aside somewhere warm.
12. Heat a pan over medium heat and pour in the olive oil. Season the skin of the fillets with salt and pepper and lay skin-side down in the skillet for 2 minutes, or until the skin has turned golden. Carefully flip onto the other side using a fish slicer and allow to cook for a further 30 seconds. When cooked, remove from the heat and lay on a sheet of kitchen paper.
13. Drain the peppers from the brine and lay flat in the hot pan. Season with salt and pepper. When the peppers start to char on one side, flip over. Squeeze the lemon juice over the skillet and add a splash of sherry. Remove peppers from the heat and place on top of the grilled bread.
14. Pour more sherry into the skillet to glaze, mixing to combine with the lemon and olive oil. Place the fish fillets on top of the peppers then spoon over the remaining liquid from the skillet. Garnish with parsley.
15. Gently pour the white bean soup into a large bowl and top with black pepper and a drizzle of oil. Serve alongside the grilled bread.