This excellent and ancient recipe from Provence arouses great passion and interest. Bouillabaisse consists of fragrant chunks of fish poached in a saffron-enhanced broth. The dish is served on two plates. First, the broth is spooned onto toasted bread crusts covered in rouille sauce, which enriches the soup; then the fish itself is eaten. It’s certainly a triumph, so spend several hours doing it.
Ingredients:
50 ml of extra virgin olive oil
2 large onions, quartered
2 leeks, cut into 5cm pieces
4 garlic cloves, minced
2 large red tomatoes, peeled, quartered and seeded
a bunch of fresh thyme, about 50 g
1 fennel bulb, quartered
20 cm strip of orange zest
2 liters of boiling water
1 kg of mixed fish fillets such as San Pedro, rubio, snapper, sea bass and red mullet, cut into 4 cm pieces
1 kg of mixed shellfish, such as crabs, mussels, clams and prawns
a large pinch of saffron threads
500 g boiled new potatoes
1 tablespoon pernod
4 tablespoons harissa paste or other hot chili paste
1 baguette, sliced and toasted in the oven to make crusts
AIOLI
6-8 large garlic cloves, crushed
1/2 teaspoon sea salt
1 egg, plus 2 egg yolks
220 ml of extra virgin olive oil
1-2 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice
Addresses:
To make the aioli, put the garlic, salt, egg, and egg yolks in a food processor and blend until smooth. Gradually pour in the olive oil until the mixture is thick and emulsified. Add the lemon juice and mix briefly to combine. Set aside.
Heat half the olive oil in a large heatproof saucepan, add the onions, leeks, garlic and tomatoes and sauté until golden and wilted. Add the thyme, fennel and orange zest. Add the boiling water and the rest of the oil, then add the fish and shellfish (except the mussels or clams) and half the saffron.
Return to a boil, reduce heat and simmer for 10-12 minutes or until fish is opaque. Add mussels and clams, if using, and cook for 3-4 minutes until just opened. Discard any that don’t.
Strain the contents of the pan through a strainer into a large bowl. Lift the fish into a large, hot tureen or serving platter. Using a slotted spoon, press the onions, fennel, thyme, and tomatoes into the strainer, then discard.
Pour the broth back into the rinsed pan, bring to a boil and cook over very high heat for 5 minutes until emulsified, then mix in half the aioli. Add the hot potatoes and mix with the Pernod. Pour about a quarter of the mixture over the fish.
Place a croute next to each bowl of soup, then add a generous tablespoon of aioli to each. Mix the remaining aioli with the harissa and remaining saffron to create a scarlet rouille sauce. Add a tablespoon of rust to the crusts. Serve the soup hot on each plate.
When the soup is done, serve the fish and potatoes hot with the rest of the aioli and rouille.
makes 4-6 servings