Bouillabaisse
Cook Time 1 hour and 30 minutes
Servings 4
Ingredients
2 whole red mullet roughly chopped into small pieces
1 medium sized snapper, fillets removed, skinned and cut into 4. Bones chopped into small pieces
12 large green prawns, shell and heads reserved, tail kept in tact intestinal tract discarded
8 mussels
3 tbs. olive oil
1 onion, chopped
1 carrot, chopped
2 stalks celery, chopped
1 fennel, chopped
4 cloves garlic, bruised
½ bunch thyme
½ bunch tarragon
1 bay leaf
1 tsp. coriander seeds
4 strands saffron
1 5cm piece of orange peel
1 tbs. tomato paste
2 cans of whole tomatoes, juices drained and tomatoes chopped
½ cup Pernod
1 cup white wine
3-4L fish stock (enough to cover the seafood and vegetables)*
Rouille toasts
¾ cup homemade mayonnaise
Pinch of saffron
2 cloves garlic, minced
Pinch cayenne
4 slices of sourdough, char grilled
4 sprigs of parsley, very finely chopped
Method
For the soup, heat oil in a large pot over a medium heat. Add the vegetables, herbs and spices and cook for 10 minutes until soft and golden. Turn the heat to medium high and add the mullet, snapper bones, prawn heads and shells and cook, stirring regularly for 5 minutes. Now add the tomato paste, tomatoes, orange peel and mix again to coat the seafood and vegetables. Deglaze by adding the Pernod and white wine and reduce.
Add the stock, bring to the boil and then turn down and simmer for 25-30 minutes. In a blender, ladle in half of the liquids and solids (bones and all) and blitz for 2 minutes until smooth. Strain the blitzed soup through a fine sieve into a clean pot. Strain the remaining broth into the pureed soup and discard the bones, shells and vegetables. Keep warm.
To make the rouille, combine the mayonnaise, saffron, garlic and cayenne. Generously smear onto the grilled bread.
Just before serving, bring the soup up to a gentle simmer. Add the mussels. Once they start to open add the prawns followed by the fish and cook for no longer that a minute.
Portion the seafood and fish into four shallow bowls and garnish with parsley.
*If you do not have enough stock, adding a little water as a substitute is fine