• Scale the large fish, clean it, salt lightly and put aside.

1.  Place onions and carrots in a large pot and bring to the boil; cook for 20 minutes.

2.  Remove from heat, allow the water to cool slightly and then add tomato, celery, rockfish and white bait.

3.  Boil for a further 30 minutes till all the ingredients become very soft. The smaller fish will form a pulp.

4.  Pass the vegetables through a strainer over the pot so that the extract ends up in the stock.

5.  Strain the fish pulp through a muslin bag and squeeze well to get the fullest possible flavor.

6.  Finally, strain all the resultant stock, return to heat, add the large fish, prawns or crabs and the olive oil.

7.  Squeeze the lemons and add the juice to the stock.

8.  Add the bay leaf, salt and pepper to taste. Cook for a further 15 minutes. Do not remove from heat just yet.

9.  Carefully remove the fish from the stock and add the eggs, unbeaten. Pour the soup into serving bowls placing one egg in each.

10.  Before adding the crabs, grill slightly. This will add the aroma of grilled seafood to the stock. It’s also possible to add some sea greens (only those that can be eaten raw) and 2 or 3 tablespoons of sea water.