Pan Roasted Red Snapper
Braised Fennel & Star Anise Broth

Serves 4

Ingredients
4 snapper filets, skin on, about 6oz each.
1 tablespoon of oil
2 bulbs of fennel
1 tablespoon of butter
salt & pepper
bones from snapper & lobster body shells (ask fish monger)
1 leek (cleaned & diced)
1 onion (diced)
2 ribs of celery (diced)
1 carrot (diced)
1 bunch of flat leaf parsley
6 whole peppercorns
fennel bold trimmings (diced)
1 tablespoon of vegetable oil
1 gallon of water
4 tablespoons of Pernod
5 pieces of star anise

For the Fennel

• 1) Trim the Fennel by cutting off the tops & bottoms of the Fennel Bulbs. Reserve a few fennel fronds for garnish. Slice the fennel on mandolin very thinly.
  
• 2) In a 10-inch sauté pan, heat 1 tablespoon of butter. Add fennel and cook for 10 minutes on medium-high heat, stirring until the fennel browns lightly. Salt & pepper. Keep warm.

To make Broth

• 1) Preheat oven to 400*
  
• 2) Place large roasting pan on top of stove. Place 1 tablespoon of olive oil in pan. Heat over medium-high heat, add Lobster Shells and Fish Bones. Brown for 5 minutes until lobster shells are bright red. Add Leek, Onion, Celery, Carrot, Fennel trimmings and brown for an additional 5 minutes, scraping the bottom of the pan. Place pan in the oven and roast 30 minutes stirring the pan every 10 minutes.
  
• 3) Remove the pan from the oven and place roasted ingredients in large pot. Add Water, Star Anise, Parsley, and Peppercorns to pot and bring to boil. Reduce the heat to simmer, reduce by half. (about 1 hour)
  
• 4) Strain ingredients and return broth to the stove. Discard bones & vegetables. Reduce by half again. Add Pernod and salt & pepper to taste. Keep warm.

For the Snapper

• 1) Score the skin of Snapper by making 4 or 5 diagonal cuts through the skin. This will stop the skin from curling up during cooking. Salt & pepper both sides of fish.
  
• 2) Heat 1 tablespoon of oil in ovenproof skillet until smoking. Add Snapper Filets, skin side down. Sear for 3 minutes. Place skillet in oven and roast 5 more minutes on skin. Fish should be opaque in color. Remove from oven.

To Plate

Spoon Fennel in center of soup plate. Top with Snapper, skin side up. Spoon Broth around the Filet. Top with Fennel fronds and serve.