Bouillabaisse
Bouillabaisse marseillaise: Provençal saffron fish stew with rouille and garlic croutons
FrenchBouillabaisse began as the fishermen's supper on the quays of Marseille's Vieux-Port, made from the bony rockfish nobody could sell, and today it is a long, slow Sunday lunch in Provence. A deep orange broth of fennel, tomato, orange peel and saffron is boiled hard so the olive oil emulsifies, then firm white fish and shellfish are poached in it at the last minute. In Marseille the broth is served first with garlicky rouille on toasted bread, then the fish on a platter. Chef's tip: add the fish in order of thickness, firmest first, so every piece finishes at the same moment.
- Total time
- 110 min
- Difficulty
- hard
- Serves
- 6
Ingredients
For the broth
- 6 tbsp olive oil
- 2 onionssliced
- 1 leeksliced
- 1 fennel bulbsliced
- 4 cloves garliccrushed
- 1 ⅛ lb ripe tomatoeschopped
- 1 tbsp tomato purée
- 3 sprigs fresh thyme
- 1 bay leaf
- ½ tsp saffron threads
- 2 ¼ lb fish heads and bonesfrom a fishmonger, gills removed
- 8 ¼ cups water
- 2 tsp salt
- 1 pinch cayenne pepper
For the fish
- 2 ¼ lb firm white fish fillets (gurnard, monkfish, hake, sea bream)skin on, cut into 6 cm pieces
- 1 ⅛ lb live musselsscrubbed
- 1 ⅛ lb waxy potatoessliced 1 cm thick
To serve
- 1 baguettesliced and toasted
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Method
0/7 doneStep 1: Heat 6 tbsp olive oil in a large pot over a medium heat. Fry 2 onions, 1 leek and 1 fennel bulb for 10 minutes until soft but not brown. Add 4 cloves garlic, 1 ⅛ lb ripe tomatoes, 1 tbsp tomato purée, 1 strip of orange peel, 3 sprigs fresh thyme and 1 bay leaf and cook for 5 minutes.
15 minStep 2: Rinse the 2 ¼ lb fish heads and bones well, add them with the 8 ¼ cups water, 2 tsp salt and half the ¼ tsp saffron threads. Bring to a rolling boil and boil hard for 20 minutes; the strong boil is what blends the oil into the broth.
20 minStep 3: Pass everything through a sieve or food mill, pressing hard to get all the flavour out. Return the broth to a clean pot with the rest of the ¼ tsp saffron threads and 1 pinch cayenne pepper; you should have about 1.8 litres.
10 minStep 4: Check the 1 ⅛ lb live mussels: throw away any with cracked shells, and any open ones that don't close when tapped firmly on the worktop.
5 minStep 5: Add the 1 ⅛ lb waxy potatoes to the boiling broth and cook for 12 minutes until almost tender. Add the thickest 2 ¼ lb firm white fish fillets (gurnard, monkfish, hake, sea bream) pieces (monkfish, gurnard) and simmer 3 minutes, then the thinner pieces and the mussels for 4–5 minutes more, covered.
20 minStep 6: The fish is done when it is opaque all the way through and flakes easily; the mussels should be open. Throw away any mussels that stay shut. A common mistake is stirring now, which breaks the fish into shreds, so just shake the pot gently.
2 minStep 7: Rub the toasted 1 baguette with the 1 garlic clove for rubbing. Serve the broth in warm bowls with the toasts topped with 5 ½ oz rouille (saffron-garlic mayonnaise), then bring the fish, mussels and potatoes to the table on a platter.
3 min
Nutrition per serving
- Calories
- 540 kcal
- Protein
- 48 g
- Carbs
- 40 g
- Fat
- 20 g
- Fibre
- 4 g
Nutrition values are estimates.
KrazyBadal
Good to know
- How long does bouillabaisse take?
- About 110 minutes in total: 40 minutes to prepare and 70 minutes to cook.
- How many people does it serve?
- 6 as written. Change the servings above the ingredients and every amount scales to match.
- What can I use instead of onions?
- 2 shallots per onion.
- What can I use instead of leek?
- 1 onion per leek.
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