Bouillabaisse

Name: Bouillabaisse
Prep time: 30 min
Cook time: 1 h
Total time: 1 h 30 min
Yield: 6 servings
Cuisine: French
Ingredients: 4 tbsp olive oil, for the broth; 1 onion, thinly sliced; 2 leeks, white parts only, thinly sliced; 1 fennel bulb, thinly sliced; 6 clove garlic, 4 sliced for the broth, 2 crushed for the rouille; 4 ripe tomatoes, roughly chopped; 1 tbsp tomato paste; 1 strip of orange peel; 2 pinch saffron threads, 1 for the broth, 1 for the rouille; 3 sprig thyme; 2 bay leaves; 1.5 l fish stock; 500 g waxy potatoes, peeled and sliced 1 cm thick; 600 g monkfish fillet, cut into large chunks; 600 g gurnard, red mullet or sea bass fillets, skin on, cut into large pieces; 500 g mussels, scrubbed and debearded; 1 egg yolk, for the rouille; 150 ml olive oil, for the rouille; 1 pinch cayenne pepper; 1 tsp lemon juice; 1 baguette, sliced and drizzled with oil; salt and black pepper

1 h 30
Prep 30 min
Cook 1 h
Serves 6
medium

Start cooking

A saffron and fennel fish broth from Marseille, boiled hard with potatoes and mixed fish, then served with garlicky rouille on toasted bread.

Ingredients

Servings

4 tbspolive oil, for the broth
1onion, thinly sliced
2leeks, white parts only, thinly sliced
1fennel bulb, thinly sliced
6 clovesgarlic, 4 sliced for the broth, 2 crushed for the rouille
4ripe tomatoes, roughly chopped
1 tbsptomato paste
1strip of orange peel
2 pinchessaffron threads, 1 for the broth, 1 for the rouille
3 sprigsthyme
2bay leaves
1½ lfish stock
500 gwaxy potatoes, peeled and sliced 1 cm thick
600 gmonkfish fillet, cut into large chunks
600 ggurnard, red mullet or sea bass fillets, skin on, cut into large pieces
500 gmussels, scrubbed and debearded
1egg yolk, for the rouille
150 mlolive oil, for the rouille
1 pinchcayenne pepper
1 tsplemon juice
1baguette, sliced and drizzled with oil
salt and black pepper

Per serving, estimated

780kcal51 gprotein52 gcarbs41 gfat

Method

1
Heat the 4 tablespoons of oil in a large wide pan over medium heat. Add the onion, leeks, fennel and sliced garlic and cook gently until soft but not coloured.
2
Add the tomatoes, tomato paste, orange peel, thyme, bay and a pinch of saffron, and cook until the tomatoes collapse.
3
Pour in the stock, bring to the boil and simmer to let the flavours blend.
4
Meanwhile, for the rouille, soak the second pinch of saffron in 1 teaspoon of hot water. Whisk it with the egg yolk, crushed garlic, cayenne and a pinch of salt.
5
Whisk in the 150 ml of oil a few drops at a time, then in a thin stream, until thick like mayonnaise. Season with the lemon juice.
6
Heat the oven to 200°C and toast the baguette slices on a tray until crisp and golden.
7
Add the potatoes to the broth and boil hard until almost tender. The rolling boil blends the oil into the broth.
8
Add the monkfish and keep boiling.
9
Lay the more delicate fish on top, add the mussels and boil until the fish is opaque and the mussels have opened.
10
Throw away any mussels that stay shut. Remove the orange peel and bay leaves, then taste and season the broth.
11
Lift the fish, mussels and potatoes onto a warm platter with a slotted spoon.
12
Serve the broth in warm bowls with the toasts spread with rouille, and pass the fish and potatoes alongside.

Notes

Use at least two kinds of fish with different textures. Ask the fishmonger for the heads and bones too: simmered for 25 minutes with an onion, they make a far better stock.
Keep the broth at a fast boil once the potatoes go in. That hard boil is what gives the soup its body.
In Marseille the broth often comes first with the toasts and rouille, and the fish follows as a second course.

Equipment

Large wide pan or casserole, Mixing bowl, Whisk, Baking tray, Slotted spoon

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