Recipe for Marseille Classic Bouillabaisse

The fish scraps and a few herbs were thrown into a pot of boiling salty water. This meagre meal marked the end of a long day for the fishermen of Marseille. Fast-forward to today, and this fish soup is no longer considered a humble meal. You can read more about the origins of Bouillabaisse here.

Visitor’s Guide to Marseille

The Provence Gourmet shares his recipe for a gourmet version of bouillabaisse. If you are interested in cooking classes and learning some traditional Provencal meals, contact Gilles (Provence Gourmet) to learn about his classes.

For the traditional Marseille bouillabaisse, you must persevere to find all the different types of fresh Mediterranean fish. If you are far from the Mediterranean, use your local white-fleshed fish. The recipe below consists of poaching the bigger fish into small fish soup. It is the luxury version of the recipe, as it differs from the original fishmongers who recuperated the damaged and unsold parts for their broth.

Image Credits: All photos were provided by and published with the permission of Provence Gourmet

Marseille Classic Bouillabaisse

Gille Conchy | Provence Gourmet

Ideally, a bouillabaisse should be prepared for at least 6 to 7 people, allowing the cook to purchase a wider variety of fish. Below is the luxury version of the traditional recipe, as it differs from the original fishermen who were simply recuperating the damaged and unsold parts.

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Prep Time 1 hour hr

Cook Time 2 hours hrs

Total Time 3 hours hrs

Course Main Dish

Cuisine French

Servings 8 People

Equipment

• stockpot all-clad with lid (12-quart)
• strainer, china cap
• mixing bowls, glass
• whisk 12-inch stainless steel
• stockpot all-clad with lid (12-quart)

Ingredients

  

1x2x3x

For the Fish Soup

• 4 1/2 lbs small fish such as bream, bass, haddock, mullet or gurnard
• 2 1/4 lbs fish trimmings and bones including the heads
• 2 leeks
• 1 medium onion
• 2 large ripe tomatoes
• 4 tbsp tomato paste
• 4 garlic cloves
• 1 tsp saffron threads
• 3-4 dried fennel branches
• 2 bay leaves dried
• salt and black pepper
• olive oil

For the Rouille

• 1/4 cup oil ½ olive oil and ½ sunflower oil
• 2 garlic cloves
• 1 egg yolk
• 1 tsp mustard
• lemon juice from ½ of a fresh lemon
• 1/2 tsp saffron threads
• 1 tsp paprika

For the Bouillabaisse

• 4-6 lb assorted rockfish 1/2-3/4lb (300-400g) per person - see note below
• 2 medium onions
• 2 garlic cloves
• 2 medium potatoes per person
• 2 large ripe tomatoes Beefsteak or Cœur d'Antan a Provencal variety
• 2 tsp saffron threads
• 2 dried fennel branches
• 2 bay leaves dried
• olive oil
• salt and black pepper
• 1 tbsp Pastis

Instructions

 

For the Fish Soup

• Clean and cut the leeks and the onions and brown them in a large stock pot on high in 4 tablespoons of olive oil.
  
• Add the roughly chopped tomatoes, the bay leaves, fennel branches, crushed garlic, 4 tablespoons concentrated tomato paste.
  
• After about 5 minutes of stirring, add the small fish, the trimmings, bones and heads.
• Keep stirring above on high heat for 5 minutes add salt and pepper.
• Add 2 liters of hot water and a dose of saffron. Once the pot is boiling, turn the heat to low-medium for an extra 15 minutes. Then allow to cool.
• After it has cooled, strain the liquid into a pot. Retain the bones, fish heads, branches, etc., in a strainer (China cap strainer works best).
• To maximize the flavour press remaining liquid out of the leftover bits using a pestle or heavy spoon. Empty your strainer from the more solid parts, and repeat.
• The slightly cloudy liquid is considered the soup, the base for the fish. The soup is delicious on its own as the flavour is quite intense.

For the Rouille

• In a small mixing bowl, add the egg yolk (at ambient temperature).
• Add salt and one teaspoon of mustard.
• Mix the ingredients together, and add the oil pouring very slowly. It is important to always keeping stirring with a fork or a whisk while you are adding the oil.
• Before you finish adding the oil, add the lemon juice, the crushed garlic, saffron, paprika and pepper.
• Sample the rouille and add more of the spices to suit your taste.
  
• Set aside in the fridge for later.

For the Bouillabaisse

• In a large stock pot (large enough to have all of your bigger fish laying flat), spread successively the following ingredients laying flat.
  
• First the thinly sliced onions and the crushed garlic with olive oil, then the potatoes sliced ½ cm (1/5 of an inch), fennel branches, bay leaves, the peeled and thinly sliced tomatoes, saffron and pastis.
• Add salt and pepper.
• Add the hard flesh fish on top of the above ingredients. On a high heat leave leave the pot 5 to 10 minutes without stirring, but lightly shaking the pot to avoid burning the onions.
  
• Pour the re-heated soup (step #1) over the fish to cover. If there is not enough add a little water. The timing for cooking is now crucial.
  
• When the soup in the pot is boiling, lower the heat to medium (to a light boiling) for 5 minutes.
• Then add the tender fleshed fish (they should be covered by the soup as well). Cook for another 5 minutes.
• Check if your fish is cooked (white to the bone). If not, put it back in the warm soup for a few extra minutes.
• Remove the fish as they are cooked and keep warm.
• Remove the potato slices and set aside (keep warm).
• Filter the soup through a strainer to recuperate the soup only.
• On table set the soup, the fish with potatoes and the Rouille.
• Some will prefer starting with the soup, adding garlic croutons topped with rouille and grated cheese, and finishing with the fish. Others will have their fish and potatoes sauced with the soup, using rouille as a mustard.

Notes

Note for the fish: Select 300 to 400 grams per persons for the bigger fish.

Ideally a mixture of fish with a rather harder flesh such as: Red Rascasse fish, Sea Robin, capon fish, weever, Monkfish, and European conger. And, also a selection of fish with tender meat such as: roucaou, sea bass, Gilt head bream, St Peter (John Dory), whiting

Try to buy different types of fish of a similar size (about 300 to 400 gr each) and as the fishmonger to clean and scaled the fish.

Ideally with a Bouillabaisse serve a Bandol Rosé wine like Château de Pibarnon

Keyword Bouillabaisse, Fish, Seafood Recipes, Traditional Recipe

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Carolyne Kauser-Abbott

With her camera and laptop close at hand, Carolyne has traded in her business suits for the world of freelance writing and blogging. Her first airplane ride at six months of age was her introduction to the exciting world of travel.

While in Provence, Carolyne can be found hiking with friends, riding the hills around the Alpilles or tackling Mont Ventoux. Her attachment to the region resonates in Perfectly Provence this digital magazine that she launched in 2014. This website is an opportunity to explore the best of the Mediterranean lifestyle (food & wine, places to stay, expat stories, books on the region, travel tips, real estate tips and more), through our contributors' articles.

Carolyne writes a food and travel blog Ginger and Nutmeg. Carolyne’s freelance articles can be found in Global Living Magazine, Avenue Magazine and City Palate (Published Travel Articles).