Bouillabaisse



Bouillabaisse, an ambrosial soup that legend says was first prepared by Venus herself!

 I drove through the Basque country and France for my honeymoon. It was a gastronomic delight; The Loire Valley, Bordeaux, Cap Ferret, San Sebastian, and then we stopped for 2 nights in Montpellier and stayed at the wonderful Baudon de Mauny, a place I heartily recommend for a romantic getaway. The next stop was to be Dijon but we decided to have lunch in Marseilles, adding 4 hours on to our journey just so we could have a bowl of the finest Bouillabaisse on earth at L’Épuisette. Due to some pfaffing on my part we were late, and they refused to let us sit down. We did not dine on Bouillabaisse that day, my darling husband tried his best not to be furious with me and I made my first wifely commitment, ‘I shall learn to cook a damn fine Bouillabaisse’. Ironic that this should be my first connubial promise, as legend says it was Venus who first served bouillabaisse, she made it for her husband Vulcan to lull him to sleep while she consorted with Mars!

Now, Bouillabaisse can be jazzed up in many ways, but one must remember that it is traditionally a provincial fisherman’s soup, made from whatever was left in the net after all the good-stuff had been sold. A simple fish stew carried to it’s zenith by smattering of provincial herbs and a thousand years of lore (Greek food writers claim to have invented the precursor of bouillabaisse, when the Phocaeans, founded Marseilles in 600 B.C. bringing with them a fish soup known as kakavia). I decided not to go for a fancy version, with lobsters, crab claws and the like, instead I have chosen a more rustic and traditional recipe which goes like this.

I read: Elisabeth Luard, Julia Child, Rick Stein, Paul Bocuse and many online recipes.

You need to use a selection of at least 6 fish. Try to select a proportion of gelatinous fish such as, halibut and eel along with some firmer fleshed varieties. Here is a selection to choose from:

Cod, Conger eel, Gurnard, Haddock, Hake, Halibut, John Dory, Lemon Sole, Perch, Plaice, Pollack, Mullet (Red or Grey), Sea Bass, Sea Bream, Trout (fresh water or Sea), Turbot, Shellfish (Mussels, Crab, Lobster, Scallops)

Many fishmongers will have a ‘fish soup’ mix. Ask them what is in the mix and how fresh it is. If the fishmonger is good, the mix should also be good. This makes life a lot easier and also makes it possible for you to cook the bouillabaisse for a group smaller than 6. If you buy the mix, then you will also need to ask the fish monger for some fish heads and bones. My fishmonger gives these to me for free. If yours doesn’t then I suggest you look for another!

ingredients for bouillabasse.

Ingredients (for 4)

About 2kg of mixed fish from the list above.

2 onions

1 leek

3 cloves of garlic

1 400g tin of tomatoes.

1 fresh bulb of fennel

3 tbsp chopped fresh parsley

1 curl of orange zest

15 strands of saffron

6 tbs olive oil

4 pints of water

1 pint white wine

Salt and pepper

4 thick round slices of crusty French bread, slightly stale or toasted.

For the Rouille

3 cloves of garlic

½ tsp salt

3 red pepper

1 large sweet red chilli

2 slices of white bread (soaked in water and then squeezed of excess)

If you buy the fish whole, you will need to prepare them (wash, scale and gut). Reserve all the debris (bones, fins, heads etc for the stock pot). Cut the fish into bite size pieces and separate the firm fleshed fish from the soft fleshed fish.

eeuwwe! Fish heads.

Put the fish heads and trimmings into a large pot with the cooking water and wine, bring almost to a boil then reduce the heat and simmer for 30 minutes. Strain and reserve.

Meanwhile, peel and chop the onions, leek, and fennel cook in 3 tbs of olive oil for about 5 minutes until softened but not browned. Now, add the saffron, garlic, orange peel and parsley and cook for another 5 minutes. Finally add the tin of tomatoes, stir through (at this point you can cover the mix, leave the fish covered in the fridge and finish the soup later.)

Before finishing the soup you need to make the rouille, I have chosen to use a mortar and pestle, simply because I am channeling a provincial fisherman’s wife circa 1850 for my bouillabaisse day, but you can use and food processor or blender (and I probably will next time).

a mortar and pestle brings out the vintage fishwife in me!

First blister the red peppers and chilies by putting them in a 200degree oven for 15-20 minutes. Take them out and put them in a plastic bag to cool for a further 15 minutes. Crush the garlic with the salt, tear up the soaked bread and add it to the garlic. Remove the peppers from the bag and pull out the stalk and tip the ‘water’ from the center into a cup, this is highly flavored with the essence of the pepper so I add this to the soup – never waste a flavour like that. Add the peppers and chilies to the garlicky mix and pulverize or blend to a smooth paste. Tip into a pretty bowl ready for service.

When ready to complete the soup, put some deep soup bowls into a low oven to warm.

Bring the vegetable mix back up to simmer and then layer the firm-fleshed fish on top, drizzle the remaining olive oil over the top and cover with the fish stock, add a teaspoon of salt and generous grinding of back pepper. Allow the soup to boil for 5 minutes.

Get your table ready with a well chilled bottle of provincial rose or Beaujolais, the rouille, a bowl of aioli, a large basket of crusty French bread and a bowl in which to discard bones and mussels shells. Diners will need a fork and spoon each.

Now add the soft fleshed fish to the pot and boil for another 5 minutes, then add the mussels and wait a further 2 minutes for them to open, take the pot off the heat.

Take the bowls from the oven and put a toasted slice of bread in the bottom of each bowl. Cover each with 2 ladles of broth, then portion the fish out making sure each bowl gets a generous share and assortment. Place the mussels on top to garnish each bowl and then add a final scatter of parsley. Serve immediately encouraging guests to add a large blob of rouille and aioli to there bowls before eating. There should be enough for seconds.