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Bouillabaisse Recipe in French and English

Bouillabaisse Recipe from Provence

Virginie Van Der Wees
This is a long, but flexible recipe with many ingredients and steps, but the results are worth the effort. Set aside at least one hour of preparation and 1h30 of cooking time. Buy different types of fish of a similar size (about 300 to 400 gr each) and ask the fishmonger to clean and scale the fish.
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Prep Time 1 hour
Cook Time 1 hour 30 minutes
Total Time 2 hours 30 minutes
Course Main Course
Cuisine French, Provencal
Servings 6 people

Equipment

Ingredients
  

For the Fish Soup:

  • 1 kg (2.2 lb) Fish *See note
  • 2 leeks
  • 1 onion
  • 4 tomatoes
  • 2 garlic head
  • 2 bay leaves
  • 100 ml (3.5 oz) olive oil
  • 1 Fennel Stem
  • 2 pinches of saffron
  • a bit of Cayenne Pepper

For the Fish Course:

  • 1 kg (2.2 lb) Rockfish *See note
  • 6 pinches of salt

For the Rouille:

  • 3 tbsp olive oil
  • 2 large egg yolks
  • 1 tbsp mustard strong
  • 2 garlic cloves

To accompany:

  • slices of toast or croutons

Instructions
 

Prepare the Fish Soup:

  • Ask your fishmonger to prepare the chosen fish.
  • Wash and cut the leeks.
  • Peel and chop the onions.
  • Peel and crush the garlic cloves.
  • Wash the parsley and fennel stem.
  • Cut the tomatoes into small cubes. In a pot, cook the vegetables over low heat with the olive oil, bay leaf and chilli.
  • Cook for 20 minutes.
  • Add the rockfish and season.
  • Leave to brown for 15 minutes.
  • Simmer for 15 minutes.
  • Remove the pot from the heat and remove the fennel stems.
  • Blend the ingredients or squeeze through a fine mesh strainer.
  • Add the saffron.
  • Add salt if necessary
  • Prepare the rouille and croutons
  • Chop 2 cloves of garlic. Put the mustard and egg yolks in a bowl and mix.
  • Add the garlic.
  • Use the whisk while adding the olive oil to increase the volume of the rouille gradually.
  • Refrigerate.

Prepare the Croutons:

  • Preheat the oven to about 450°F.
  • Cut the bread into thin slices.
  • Toast the bread on both sides with a drizzle of olive oil.
  • Once out of the oven, rub the croutons with a peeled garlic clove.

For the rest of the recipe:

  • Ask your fishmonger to prepare the chosen fish.
  • Peel the potatoes and cut them into large dice.
  • Cook the potatoes in a pot for 30 minutes with equal fish stock and water.
  • Salt. Bring the stock of fish broth to a boil.
  • Poach the fish in the bottom of the water, starting with the pieces with firm flesh.
  • Cook on low heat for 10 minutes.
  • Put the potatoes in a large dish
  • Pour the fish soup into a soup tureen.
  • Bring croutons, potatoes, fish and the rouille.
  • Serve with the fish.

Notes

Note for the fish: Select 300 to 400 grams per person for the bigger fish.
Ideally, a mixture of fish with relatively denser flesh, such as Red Rascasse, Sea Robin, capon, 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
The Marseille Bouillabaisse Charter states that the fish should be fresh from the Mediterranean (never frozen). And it must include at least four (4) of the following types:
  • Scorpionfish (Rascasse) – an unattractive bottom-feeder with a ridged head and sharp spines.
  • White scorpionfish – a variation of the above.
  • Red mullet – in French, is rouget de roche, a goatfish prized since antiquity. The Romans reared these fish and traded them by weight for silver.
  • Skate – a slow-growing, cartilaginous fish is a relative to stingrays and sharks.
  • Conger eel – the largest of the eel family, can reach up to three meters long.
  • John Dory or St. Pierre (Saint Peter’s fish). Olive green in colour, John Dory has long spines on its fins and a distinctive dark spot on its side.
Keyword Bouillabaisse, Fish, Seafood Recipes
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