French Fish Soup (Bouillabaisse) with Rouille

Ingredients

• 800 g mixed fish fillets (e.g., monkfish, dragonhead, red drum, black sea bass, ready to cook, skinless)
• 2 white onions
• 4 Garlic cloves
• 2 tbsp freshly chopped parsley
• 3 tomatoes
• 1 bulb fennel
• 6 tbsp Olive oil
• 1 tsp fennel seeds
• 400 ml dry white wine
• 600 ml fish stock
• 1 tin saffron strands
• 1 tbsp Lemon Juice
• Salt
• Cayenne pepper
• 1 slice old-fashioned white bread
• 2 Garlic cloves
• 1 pinch ground saffron
• 0.5 tsp Sea Salt
• 1 egg yolk
• 1 tsp sharp mustard
• 200 ml olive oil
• 1 tsp tomato paste
• 1 tsp lemon juice
• white pepper (from the grinder)
• 2 tbsp thyme (for sprinkling)
• 1 baguette

Instructions

1. 1.

   Rinse the fish fillets under cold water, pat dry and cut into bite-sized pieces.

2. 2.

   Peel and halve the onions, slicing them into thin strips. Peel and finely chop the garlic. Wash, core, and dice the tomatoes. Clean, wash, and cube the fennel. Heat the oil in a large pot, sauté the fennel seeds with half the parsley, onions, and garlic until fragrant, then add the fennel. Mix the white wine with the fish stock and pour half of it into the pot along with the tomatoes.

3. 3.

   Cover and simmer over medium heat for about 15 minutes. Strain through a sieve and reheat with the remaining stock mixture; grate the saffron between your fingers and dissolve it in the liquid.

4. 4.

   Season the firm fish fillets such as black sea bass lightly with salt and pepper, then add them to the broth. Cover and let steep over low heat for about 5 minutes. Add the remaining fish and cook together for another 5 minutes. Season the Bouillabaisse with lemon juice, salt, and cayenne pepper.

5. 5.

   For the Rouille soak the bread in warm water. Peel the garlic cloves and crush them in a mortar with saffron and salt. Squeeze out excess liquid from the bread and mix it with the garlic paste. Whisk the egg yolk with mustard; add olive oil dropwise at first, then in a thin stream while whisking vigorously to create a homogeneous emulsion. Stir in the garlic-bread mixture and tomato paste, seasoning with lemon juice and pepper. Slice the baguette into narrow strips, spread Rouille on each slice, sprinkle with salt, pepper, and thyme, and serve alongside the fish soup.