Red mullet in a crust of saffron bread

Peel the onions, wash them and finely slice them using a mandoline.

Bring 20 millilitres of water and vinegar to a boil and blanch the onions in this for a few minutes. Pour the remaining ingredients into a bowl, add the sieved onions, cover with cling film and leave to infuse for 6 hours.

After those 6 hours, pour the mixture into a saucepan and let it simmer until it has the typical consistency of a compote.

Pour the flour into a mixing bowl, add the yeast that you dissolved in a small amount of warm water beforehand, followed by the sugar. Start kneading at medium speed and then add the saffron diluted in a spoonful of water along with the other ingredients.

Continue kneading until you have a soft dough. Place the dough on a wooden surface that you have dusted with a little flour. Continue to knead by hand until the dough is perfectly smooth. Then place the dough in a bread tin greased with extra virgin olive oil.

Leave it to rise for about 2 hours and then bake it in an oven pre-heated to 180°C for 45 minutes.

After baking, remove the bread from the tin, allow it to cool and then cut it into slices no more than 3 millimetres thick using a bread slicer.

Blanch the mint and basil leaves and then plunge them into ice water. Squeeze them well and add the remaining ingredients.

Mix all the ingredients with an immersion blender, then put the mixture in the freezer for about 2 hours.

Mix vigorously to break up the ice crystals until you get a creamy pesto sauce.

Let the sultanas soak in lukewarm water for about 20 minutes and soak the stale bread in the vinegar.

Meanwhile, toast the pine nuts in a non-stick frying pan. Squeeze the sultanas when they are nicely swollen and put them in the immersion blender cup together with the other ingredients.

Mix for a few minutes until the mixture is soft and smooth.

Blanch the garlic three times, starting with cold water each time.

Pour the cream and milk into a small saucepan, add the blanched garlic and leave to simmer on a gentle heat for about 20 minutes. Mix and set aside.

Fillet the red mullets by removing the bones; make sure that the two halves of the fish remain attached at the tail end.

Season with salt, pepper, grated lemon zest and chopped wild fennel.

Brush the skin with a dash of extra virgin olive oil. Then place one side of the fish on a slice of saffron bread and, with the tip of the knife, cut the bread lengthwise to the point where the tail is attached. Do the same on the other side.

Put a dash of extra virgin olive oil in a frying pan, heat it and fry the mullet gently on both sides until the bread changes colour slightly, becomes crispy and adheres well to the skin of the fish.

With a spatula, spread some mint pesto on each plate, cover with a spoonful of sultana and pine nut pesto and place the red mullet on top.

Garnish with a few drops of garlic sauce, a little red onion compote, sprigs of mint, chives and garlic flowers.