All Recipes

Bouillabaisse

Bouillabaisse
  • Category

    Soup and Stew

  • Cusine

    French

What do you need?
How to make?

Ingredients

3 pounds of at least 3 different kinds of fish fillets

1 pound mussels or clams

1 pound squid or crab

1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil

1 cup thinly sliced onions

2 leeks, white and light green parts only, thinly sliced

1/4 fennel bulb, thinly sliced, or 1 teaspoon of fennel seeds

2 cloves garlic, crushed

3 large tomatoes, roughly chopped

1 bay leaf

3 sprigs fresh thyme

1/2 teaspoon saffron threads

2 teaspoons salt

One long, wide strip of orange zest

8 ounces clam juice or fish stock

1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

Sliced rustic French bread, plain or toasted

1 Tbsp hot fish stock or clam broth

2 cloves peeled garlic

1 small red hot pepper

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/4 cup soft white bread, pulled into bits

1/2 cup olive oil

Directions

Heat 1/4 cup of olive oil in a large pot on medium high heat. When the oil is hot, add the onions, leeks, and fennel. Stir to coat the vegetables with the olive oil. Cook on medium heat until softened but not browned, about 10-15 minutes.

Add the crushed garlic, chopped tomatoes, bay leaf, thyme, saffron, salt, and orange zest. Cook until the tomatoes are soft and broken down, about 10 more minutes.

Cut fish fillets into 2-inch pieces. Bring 2 cups of water to a boil. Lay the fish pieces over the vegetable mixture and pour over with 2 cups of boiling water. Add clam juice or fish stock. Bring everything to a boil, and cook, uncovered, for about 5 minutes.

Add the mussels, squid, and/or crab, pushing aside the fish so that the shellfish is now covered in liquid, and boil for 10 minutes more, uncovered. Add freshly ground black pepper, and more salt to taste. Remove the bay leaves, sprigs of thyme, and orange zest from the broth.

To serve, remove the fish and shellfish to a platter to keep warm. Place a thick slice of crusty French bread in each bowl and put a dollop of the rouille sauce on top of the bread. Ladle the soup broth over the bread, and then portion out fish and shellfish onto the bowls.