Bouillabaisse with Rouille and Croutons Recipe

Origin: France      Period: Traditional

For a truly authentic bouillabaisse your really need Mediterranean fish such as rascasse an weaver, which are not the easiest to find. However, any sea fish will give you an excellent flavour. Use what you have available to you. This is a much more substantial form of bouillabaisse that's intended to be served as a main course rather than a soup starter.

Ingredients:

3kg fresh fish (cod, ling, conger, red mullet, sea bass, monkfish, hake, bream etc)
500g mussels (optional)
500g mixed shellfish (or lobster and langoustine or prawns or 200g squid at a pinch)
3 onions, finely chopped
3 leeks, finely sliced
3 celery sticks, finely chopped
1 fennel bulb, finely chopped
1 head garlic, cloves finely chopped
500g ripe tomatoes, chopped
2 bayleaves
1 small spring thyme
1 heaped tsp saffron
5cm strip orange peel
100ml olive oil
100ml white wine
1.5kg potatoes, peeled and halved
50ml Pernod

For the rouille:
3 egg yolks
1 tsp saffron
5 anchovy fillets
2 garlic cloves
1 tsp tomato purée
generous squeeze of lemon juice
5 generous slugs of Tabasco
250ml olive oil
salt and black pepper, to taste

For the croutons
1 baguette
2 garlic cloves

Bouillabaisse with Rouille and Croutons Preparation:

Method:

Heat the oil in a large pot, add the chopped vegetables and garlic then fry until soft and lightly coloured before adding the tomatoes. Continue cooking until all the liquid has evaporated. Add the wine along with the herbs and saffron at this point and bring the mixture to a boil. Now pour in just enough water to cover. Return the mixture to a boil, reduce to a simmer and cook for 10 minutes.

After this time strain the stock through a sieve then return to the pan along with the potatoes. Bring to a simmer, cover and cook until the potatoes are almost tender (about 20 minutes). Now add the fish. Whole fish will cook in a bout 10 minutes, fillets in about 8 minutes. Add shellfish or prawns about 5 minutes before you're ready to serve and add the mussels 4 minutes before you're ready to serve.

Make the rouille by adding all the ingredients (except the oil) to a food processor and rendering to a paste. Now add the oil in a slow but steady stream, whizzing to mix all the while. Decant into a bowl and cover until required.

For the croutons, rub the baguette all over with the garlic until gleaming and sticky then slice into thin rounds. Lay these on a baking tray and drizzle with olive oil. Bake in an oven pre-heated to 170°C until golden.

About 1 minute before the bouillabaisse is due to be ready add the Pernod.

To serve, transfer the fish to a serving plate. Place the potatoes and stock in another bowl and serve with the rouille and croutons.

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