Bouillabaisse (Provence fish stew)

According to Wikipedia, Bouillabaisse was originally a stew made by Marseille fishermen, using the bony rockfish which they were unable to sell to restaurants or markets. There are at least three kinds of fish in a traditional bouillabaisse, typically red rascasse, sea robin and conger. It can also include gilt-bream, turbot, monkfish, mullet or hake. It usually also inludes shellfish and other seafoods such as sea urchins, mussels, velvet crab or octopus.

When I set out to cook this dish, I didn't realise that it would be so difficult to get hold of the fish described above. I had to compromise and found the following: sea bream, monkfish, halibut, hake and mussels.

Cayenne pepper and saffron are typical Bouillabaisse ingredients. I don't have cayenne pepper at home and I didn't remember to use chilli plus paprika instead but it would have been a good compromise. Saffron is extremely expensive and I have never bought, however, on hindsight, I buy vanilla pods and they are even more expensive so perhaps I could buy some when I re-do this dish.

For a dish that looks so simple, it took a lot of time to cook. Allow 1.5-2 hours.

I love fish stew and this one is no different. It's delicious!

The rouille didn't come out exactly as it should but nonetheless it was divine spread on toasted bread.

This recipe was partly inspired in Wikipedia and partly on Kate Whiteman's The ultimate book of fish and shellfish.

Serves: 6 persons.

Ingredients:

• 1 large onion (250g), chopped
• 4 garlic cloves, chopped
• 2 celery sticks, finely sliced
• 1 small fennel bulb (140g), finely diced
• bouquet garni (2 bay leaves + 3 thyme sprigs + 3 parsley sprigs), wrapped in cotton thread
• 1 tbsp tomato purée
• peel of ½ orange (I used less and there wasn't much flavour coming through)
• cayenne pepper to taste or 1 chilli chopped + paprika to taste
• large pinch of saffron threads
• 100ml white wine
• 1 can chopped tomatoes (400g)
• 700ml fish stock
• 750g potatoes, peeled and sliced
• 1650g mixed fish
• 390g sea bream
• 500g monkfish
• 280g halibut
• 280g hake
• 200g mussels
• olive oil to taste
• salt & pepper to taste
• parsley to taste, chopped
• toasted bread slices
• For the rouille:
• 2 garlic cloves, peeled
• ½ tsp sea salt
• 3 tbsp breadcrumbs
• pinch of saffron
• pinch of cayenne pepper (or paprika)
• 125ml olive oil

Method:

1. Heat olive oil in a pan. Add the onion, garlic, celery and fennel to the pan and cook for 10 min or until soft.
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
2. Stir in the bouquet garni, tomato purée, orange peel, cayenne pepper/chilli+paprika, saffron and white wine and stir. Let the wine evaporate.
   
   
   
3. Add the chopped tomatoes, fish stock and salt & pepper to taste and bring to the boil.
   
   
   
4. Add the fish to the pan and cook for 5 min. Remove the fish and reserve.
   
   
   
5. Add the potatoes to the pan and cook for 10 min until just cooked.
6. Return the fish to the pan and let it return to the boil. Add the mussels and cook for a further 5 min. I ran out of space in the pan so I cooked the mussels aside and added them to the plate.
   
   
   
   
   
   
7. Make the rouille:
1. Put the garlic, sea salt, cayenne pepper and saffron in a mortar and crush to a paste with a pestle.
2. Add the breadcrumbs and water just enough to wet the breadcrumbs. Stir.
3. Whisk in the olive oil, little at a time, to make a smooth, shiny sauce that resembles mayonnaise.
8. Divide the fish, potatoes and mussels among individual soup plates. Strain the soup and ladle it over the fish.
9. Garnish with parsley.
   
   
   
10. Serve with toasted bread and the rouille.