Bouillabaisse (Provençal Fish Stew with Rouille)

About This Recipe

Bouillabaisse is the most celebrated dish of Marseille and the defining stew of Provence — a deeply orange, saffron-and-fennel-perfumed fish soup that was once humble fishermen's food for the unsellable rockfish of the Mediterranean. The full preparation is famously elaborate: a strong rockfish-and-aromatic broth simmered with tomato, fennel, leek, garlic, orange peel, and saffron, then strained; in a second pot, firm-fleshed fish are poached briefly in the broth; the soup is served first as a course with toasted baguette croutons spread with rouille (a saffron-garlic-chili mayonnaise) and grated gruyère, and the fish is served second on a separate platter. The Marseille Charter of 1980 stipulated which fish 'must' appear (scorpionfish, conger eel, John Dory, sea robin, monkfish, weever), but home cooks adapt with what's available. The crucial points are saffron, fennel, and orange peel — without them, it's just fish soup, not bouillabaisse.

Ingredients

Serves 6

• 1.5 kgmixed fish heads, bones, and small whole rockfish (for broth)
• 1.2 kgfirm white fish fillets (monkfish, John Dory, sea bass, gurnard), in chunks
• 300 gsmall shellfish (clams, mussels, or langoustines, optional)
• 60 mlextra-virgin olive oil
• 2 largeleeks, white and pale green parts only, sliced
• 2 largeyellow onions, sliced
• 1 largefennel bulb, chopped (fronds reserved)
• 8 clovesgarlic, sliced
• 1 cangood-quality tomatoes (400 g), crushed
• 2 tbsptomato paste
• 1 striporange peel (no pith), about 5 cm
• 2 leavesbay
• 2 sprigsfresh thyme
• 1 tspfennel seeds
• 1 generous pinchsaffron threads (about 0.5 g)
• 100 mldry white wine or pastis
• 2 Lwater
• 1.5 tspfine salt, plus more to taste
• 1baguette, sliced and toasted (for serving)
• 150 ggruyère, grated (for serving)
• 2 largeegg yolks (for rouille)
• 4 clovesgarlic, crushed to paste with salt (for rouille)
• 1 tspsaffron threads, soaked in 1 tbsp warm water (for rouille)
• 1 tspcayenne pepper (for rouille)
• 250 mlextra-virgin olive oil (for rouille)
• 1 smallboiled potato, riced (for rouille body)

Instructions

1. 1

   Build the broth base

   Heat olive oil in a very large stockpot over medium. Sweat the leeks, onion, and fennel with a pinch of salt for 12 minutes until soft and pale gold. Add the garlic, fennel seeds, orange peel, bay, and thyme. Cook 2 minutes.

2. 2

   Add fish heads and bones

   Add the fish heads and bones (rinsed thoroughly) and stir for 3–4 minutes — they'll release their flavor. Add tomato paste and stir 1 minute, then the tomatoes.

3. 3

   Simmer the broth

   Pour in the wine and water. Add the saffron and salt. Bring to a boil, then reduce to a steady simmer. Cook 45 minutes — uncovered for the first 25, partially covered after. Skim foam often.

   Hard-boiling a fish broth turns it bitter; keep it at a gentle, steady simmer.

4. 4

   Make the rouille

   While the broth simmers, whisk egg yolks with garlic paste, soaked saffron, cayenne, and a pinch of salt. Slowly drizzle in olive oil while whisking constantly until thick and glossy — like a saffron mayonnaise. Whisk in the riced potato for body. Refrigerate.

5. 5

   Strain the broth

   Press the broth through a fine sieve into a clean pot, working a wooden spoon hard to extract every drop. Discard solids. You should have about 1.5 L of intensely orange, fragrant broth. Taste and adjust salt.

6. 6

   Poach the fish

   Bring the strained broth to a gentle simmer. Add the firmest fish (monkfish) first; cook 3 minutes. Add the next-firmest (sea bass, John Dory); cook 2 minutes. Add any shellfish; cook until they open (3 minutes for mussels). Add the most delicate fish last for 1 minute.

7. 7

   Serve as two courses

   Lift the fish carefully onto a warm platter with some broth and cover. Ladle the broth into bowls at the table; pass toasted baguette slices, the rouille (spread thickly on the croutons), and grated gruyère. Serve the fish platter as the second course, dribbling more broth over each portion.

Variations

• •

  Bourride: a related Provençal stew using only white fish and finished with aioli stirred into the broth at the table.

• •

  Bouillabaisse de morue (salt cod): a Lenten variant using rehydrated salt cod instead of fresh fish.

• •

  Quick weeknight version: skip the from-scratch broth and use 1.5 L good fish stock, building flavor with the aromatics on top.

Storage

Broth keeps refrigerated 3 days and is even better on day two; poach fresh fish to order. Don't store cooked fish in broth — it overcooks and shreds.

Frequently Asked Questions