French Recipe: Bouillabaisse (easy Version)

A traditional bouillabaisse recipe is a French fish stew consisting of a mixture of fish varieties (red mullet, scorpion fish, conger eel…). This soup started out as a ragout made using leftover fish from the market and it can be quite a laborious dish to prepare. In the traditional recipe, the rockfish are first cooked and the soup is blended at least three times and, to finish, the larger fish pieces are mixed into the pot. To make the process simpler, more common varieties of fish can be substituted, such as cod and halibut.

 ingredients For The Bouillabaisse (serves Six People)

  • 500g various fish filets
  • 400g tomatoes
  • 1 soupspoon of tomato puree
  • 1 leek
  • 1 onion
  • 4 potatoes
  • 50ml white wine
  • A pinch of saffron
  • A bay leaf

Method

  1. Peel and dice the tomatoes. Cut the onion and leak into thin slices.
  2. Heat approximately 30ml oil in a stew pot and brown the tomatoes, leak and onion.
  3. As they start to colour, deglaze the pan with the white wine. Add the tomato puree and 500ml water.
  4. Chop some of the fish filets into small pieces and add to the soup.
  5. Leave to cook for fifteen to twenty minutes and blend the mixture. Ensure that the fish bones are sieved and that the skin is removed.
  6. Place back on the heat and add the large pealed potatoes sliced into large pieces.
  7. Add the saffron and the bay leaf. Leave to cook for ten minutes.
  8. Cut the remaining fish into big slices, add to the pot and leave to cook for a further five to ten minutes.
  9. Remove the soup from the heat and serve warm.

There are two different Mediterranean dressings that can be served with your bouillabaisse, either a rouille (peppers, chilli, paprika and garlic) or an aïoli (a garlic-based mayonnaise) sauce.

Bon appétit !