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Bouillabaisse (Provençal fish stew with rouille)

68

A home bouillabaisse: firm white fish and mussels poached in a saffron and orange broth with fennel, tomato and potatoes. Spread a garlicky rouille on toasted baguette and float it on the soup, then eat the fish and potatoes with the rest of the broth.

Time
90 min (35 prep + 55 cook)
Servings
4
Per serving
792 kcal
Protein
70 g

Ingredients

  • 5 tbsp olive oil, 2 tbsp for the soup, 3 tbsp for the rouille
  • 1 large onion, thinly sliced
  • 1 medium bulb fennel, thinly sliced
  • 1 medium leek, white and pale green parts, sliced
  • 7 cloves garlic, 5 sliced for the soup, 2 crushed for the rouille
  • 2 tbsp tomato puree
  • 1 can (14 oz) diced tomatoes
  • 1/2 cup white wine, dry
  • 2 wide strips orange zest
  • 1 bay leaf
  • 4 sprigs fresh thyme
  • 2 generous pinches saffron, 1 pinch for the soup, 1 for the rouille
  • 4 1/4 cups fish stock, good bought stock or homemade
  • 1 1/4 tsp salt
  • 1 lb 2 oz gold potatoes, waxy potatoes, peeled, in 1 cm (3/8-inch) slices
  • 14 oz monkfish, in 4 cm (1 1/2-inch) chunks; weighed raw (about 320 g cooked)
  • 14 oz cod, or haddock, in large chunks
  • 10 1/2 oz bream, sea bream fillets, or gurnard or red mullet, in large pieces; weighed raw (about 240 g cooked)
  • 1 lb 5 oz in the shell mussels, scrubbed; discard any that are broken or stay open when tapped

Rouille

To serve

Steps

  1. Warm 2 tablespoons of the olive oil in a large, wide pot over medium heat. Add the onion, fennel, leek and the 5 sliced garlic cloves and cook for 10 minutes, stirring, until soft but barely coloured.
  2. Stir in the tomato puree for 1 minute. Add the canned tomatoes, wine, orange zest, bay, thyme, one pinch of saffron, the stock and the salt. Bring to a boil, then simmer, partly covered, for 20 minutes. Pick out the orange zest, bay and thyme.
  3. Add the potatoes and simmer for 12 minutes, until nearly tender.
  4. Slide in the monkfish, which takes longest, and simmer gently for 3 minutes.
  5. Add the cod and bream, then scatter the mussels on top. Cover and simmer very gently for 5–6 minutes, without stirring so the fish stays in pieces, until the mussels have opened and the fish flakes and reaches 145°F. Throw away any mussels that have stayed shut.
  6. While the fish cooks, make the rouille. Lift 2 slices of potato (about 60 g) out of the pot, mash them in a bowl with the 2 crushed garlic cloves and let cool for a minute. Mash in the pasteurised yolk, lemon juice, chili and the second pinch of saffron. Whisk in the remaining 3 tablespoons of oil a few drops at a time until thick, then stir in a spoonful of hot broth. Keep the rouille cool and eat it the same day.
  7. Taste the broth for salt, since bought stock varies widely. Serve the broth first, ladled over toasted baguette spread with rouille. Bring the fish, mussels and potatoes to the table sprinkled with parsley, with more broth over them. Leftover soup and fish keep 2 days in the fridge; reheat gently and do not boil. Make fresh rouille.

Good to know

Which fish can I use?

Use at least three kinds, with something firm such as monkfish or conger and something flaky such as cod, gurnard or sea bream. Avoid oily fish such as mackerel, which take over the broth.

Can I make the broth ahead?

Yes. Make it through step 2 up to a day ahead, chill it, then bring it back to a simmer and carry on with the potatoes and fish.

How do I get more depth from bought stock?

Replace half the stock with a jar of fish soup if you can buy one, and add 1–2 tablespoons of pastis in step 2.

Per

Calories
84
Protein
(37%)
7 g
Fat
(37%)
3 g
Carbohydrates
(26%)
6 g
of which sugar
1 g
Fiber
1 g
Sodium
178 mg

About 30% of the alcohol remains after cooking; the label counts only that.

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Computed from the ingredients with our published formula, not yet kitchen-tested. How

As written, 3166 kcal goes into the pot and 3877 g of ingredients comes out as about 3790 g of food: 84 kcal per 100 g. Cooking moves water and energy density is the score's biggest lever, so the dish is scored as cooked, not as an average of its parts. Every ingredient links to its food page, with the same data and score. The label's percentages are each macronutrient's share of the calories. The full formula.