Bouillabaisse

Name: Bouillabaisse
Prep time: 1 h
Cook time: 40 min
Total time: 1 h 40 min
Cuisine: France
Ingredients: 4 tbsp olive oil, 60 ml; 1 onion, chopped; 1 leek, white and pale green, sliced; 1 fennel bulb, chopped, fronds reserved; 4 cloves garlic, sliced; 1 tbsp tomato paste; 1 can (14 oz) chopped tomatoes, 400 g; 1 pinch saffron threads, about 0.2 g, crumbled into 2 tbsp warm water; 1 strip of orange peel, 8 cm, no white pith; 2 sprigs thyme; 1 bay leaf; 100 ml (scant ½ cup) dry white wine; 1½ l (6 cups) fish stock, Fish Stock or good store-bought; 500 g (1 lb) waxy potatoes, peeled, in 1.5 cm slices; 1 tbsp pastis or Pernod, optional; fine sea salt, to taste, about 6 g (1 tsp); 400 g (14 oz) firm fish fillets, monkfish, gurnard or conger, in 5 cm chunks; 400 g (14 oz) tender white fish fillets, sea bass, bream, red mullet or hake, skin on, in 5 cm pieces; 500 g (1 lb) live mussels, cleaned, as in Moules Marinières; 8 large raw shell-on prawns, optional; 150 g (⅔ cup) Aioli, or mayonnaise with 1 grated garlic clove; 1 pinch saffron threads, soaked in 1 tsp hot water; ½ tsp cayenne pepper, or to taste; 1 baguette, in 1 cm slices, toasted; 1 clove garlic, halved, for rubbing toasts

Marseille's saffron fish stew with rouille and toasts — a home-kitchen version

Serves: 4
Hands-on: 1 h
Total: 1 h 40 min
Level: Project

Bouillabaisse is said to have begun as the fishermen's stew of Marseille, made with the bony rockfish they couldn't sell. This home version keeps what matters: a deep, saffron-orange broth built on fish stock, fennel, tomato and orange peel, several kinds of fish added in order of firmness, and rouille — a garlicky, peppery mayonnaise — spread on toasts and floated on top.

Ingredients

Broth

4 tbspolive oil60 ml
1onionchopped
1leekwhite and pale green, sliced
1fennel bulbchopped, fronds reserved
4 clovesgarlicsliced
1 tbsptomato paste
1 canchopped tomatoes (14 oz)400 g
1 pinchsaffron threadsabout 0.2 g, crumbled into 2 tbsp warm water
1strip of orange peel8 cm, no white pith
2 sprigsthyme
1bay leaf
100 mldry white wine (scant ½ cup)
1½ lfish stock (6 cups)Fish Stock or good store-bought
500 gwaxy potatoes (1 lb)peeled, in 1.5 cm slices
1 tbsppastis or Pernodoptional
fine sea saltto taste, about 6 g (1 tsp)

Seafood

400 gfirm fish fillets (14 oz)monkfish, gurnard or conger, in 5 cm chunks
400 gtender white fish fillets (14 oz)sea bass, bream, red mullet or hake, skin on, in 5 cm pieces
500 glive mussels (1 lb)cleaned, as in Moules Marinières
8large raw shell-on prawnsoptional

Rouille and toasts

150 gAioli (⅔ cup)or mayonnaise with 1 grated garlic clove
1 pinchsaffron threadssoaked in 1 tsp hot water
½ tspcayenne pepperor to taste
1baguettein 1 cm slices, toasted
1 clovegarlichalved, for rubbing toasts

Diet: Dairy-free, Pescatarian
Allergens: fish, molluscs, crustaceans, gluten, egg, mustard, sulphites, celery
Origin: France (Marseille)
Season: Summer, Autumn

Method

Heat the oil in a wide, heavy pot over medium heat. Add the onion, leek and fennel and cook gently, stirring now and then, until very soft but not browned, 12–15 minutes. 14 min
Add the garlic and tomato paste and cook 2 minutes. Add the tomatoes, saffron with its water, orange peel, thyme, bay and wine. Simmer 5 minutes. 5 min
Pour in the stock and bring to a boil. Boil hard, uncovered, for 10 minutes — the rolling boil emulsifies the oil into the broth and gives it body. (The name is usually explained as "boil, then lower".) 10 min
Add the potatoes and simmer until just tender, 15–18 minutes. Season with salt and the pastis. Fish out the orange peel, thyme and bay. 16 min
Meanwhile, make the rouille: stir the soaked saffron and cayenne into the aioli. Rub the toasted bread with the cut garlic.
Lower the heat so the broth barely simmers. Add the firm fish first and cook 3 minutes. Add the tender fish, skin side up, and the prawns, then scatter the mussels over the top. 3 min
Cover and cook until the mussels open, the prawns are pink and all the fish is just opaque and flakes when pressed, 4–6 minutes. The thickest piece of fish should be 55–60°C (131–140°F). 5 min
Lift the fish, shellfish and potatoes onto a warm platter, discarding any mussels that stay shut. Ladle the broth into warm bowls. Serve the toasts spread with rouille to float on the broth, with the fish alongside or added to the bowls. Scatter with fennel fronds.

Why it works

A hard boil after the stock goes in breaks the olive oil into tiny droplets that the gelatin and proteins of the stock hold in suspension, giving the broth its signature body and glossy, cloudy orange color. Adding the seafood by firmness means each piece finishes cooking at the same moment. The rouille's garlic and fat enrich the broth as it melts off the toasts.

Common mistakes

Using only one delicate fish, which falls apart. Mix at least one firm, meaty fish with one tender one.
Boiling once the fish is in. After the initial hard boil, keep it gentle.
A weak stock. The broth is the dish; use real fish stock, not water.

Variations

Bourride: Skip the saffron and tomato; whisk a big spoonful of aioli into the hot broth off the heat until it thickens like custard, then add the fish.
Simpler weeknight version: Use 1 kg of a single firm fish and skip the shellfish; the method stays the same.

Make ahead and storage

Make the broth through step 4 up to 2 days ahead and refrigerate. Reheat to a simmer and add the seafood just before serving.

Notes

Ask the fishmonger for heads and frames to make the stock (Fish Stock). Gurnard, monkfish, red mullet and bream are good sustainable choices. Crustaceans only if you add the prawns.