Recipe: Bouillabaisse Soup

Name: Bouillabaisse Soup
Prep time: 30 min
Cook time: 30 min
Total time: 60 min
Yield: 6 servings
Ingredients: Bouillabaisse soup recipe for 6 people :2.5kg (5.5 lb) of mixed fish such as gurnard, mullet, conger eel, monkfish, Pollock, velvet crab ; gutted, scaled and washed.; 1 large onion; 600g (21 oz) potatoes; 5 cloves of garlic; 5 tomatoes; 1 stalk of fennel; 1 "bouquet garni" see : bouquet garni; 5cl (1.7 fl oz) olive oil; some pulverised saffronsalt and cayenne pepper

By chef patrick Asfaux 4.9/5 (12 reviews)

Prep 30 min

Cook 30 min

Total 1h

Servings 6 serv.

Bouillabaisse is 2.5 kg of rock fish (scorpionfish, gurnard, weever, conger, monkfish) cooked 18 minutes at high heat in a saffron-scented broth with potatoes and fennel. Two servings: a smooth blended soup and whole fish on the side. Pure Mediterranean tradition, all ingredients available at any French market.

Recette Bouillabaisse Soup - Chef Patrick Asfaux

Ingredients for 6 servings

Adjust for

servings

Bouillabaisse soup recipe for 6 people :

2.5kg (5.5 lb) of mixed fish such as gurnard, mullet, conger eel, monkfish, Pollock, velvet crab ; gutted, scaled and washed.
1 large onion
600g (21 oz) potatoes
5 cloves of garlic
5 tomatoes
1 stalk of fennel
1 "bouquet garni" see : bouquet garni
5cl (1.7 fl oz) olive oil

some pulverised saffronsalt and cayenne pepper

Step-by-step directions

Heat up the olive oil in a large pot and sweat off your finely sliced onion until golden brown. Then, add the chopped tomatoes, the "bouquet garni", the finely slice fennel, garlic and the potatoes cut into thick slices.

Place the fish on the vegetables and add 2.5 litres (2.6 qt) of hot water. Season well with cayenne pepper, saffron and a bit of salt. Allow to cook on a high heat for 18 minutes.

Meanwhile, get 6 soup plates ready with a thick slice of country house bread at the bottom of each plates.

Get rid of the "bouquet garni", take the fish out of the soup and place them on a serving dish along with half of the potatoes around them.

Then, blitz the soup part of the dish with a immersion blender and check the seasoning. Finally, pour some soup into each plates.

Set the rest of the soup into a soup bowl and place the fish and soup bowl at the centre of the table, serve everybody with its plate of soup and accompany the lot with a nice bottle of Bandol rose... here you are, on the French riviera!

Chef's tip

Bouillabaisse isn't everyday food, it's a Sunday family meal or a real occasion. Historically it's the soup of Mediterranean fishermen, who cooked their unsold catch with whatever they had on hand. Today you make it when you have time and genuinely want to eat fish, not just broth. It's a summer and autumn dish, when rock fish arrives at southern markets. Ripe tomatoes are essential, otherwise the broth lacks body. Saffron should just be a pinch, for color and aroma, nothing more. Too much and it kills the fish. For wine, forget light whites. Go for a dry Bandol rosé with backbone, or a Cassis white. A Côtes de Provence blanc with good acidity works too. If you prefer red, a Côtes du Rhône village, not too heavy. The point is something with acidity to cut through the richness. Accompaniments are toasted country bread, rouille (garlic-saffron mayonnaise), that's it. No invention needed. Fish and potatoes stay on the table center, people help themselves, it lingers, it's convivial. Count two hours really easy from market to table, no stress.

Frequently asked questions

Can you replace scorpionfish with another fish?

Yes, scorpionfish is just a rock fish rich in gelatin. Use gurnard, conger, monkfish, even turbot. What matters is firm-fleshed fish, not soft white fish that falls apart. A mix of at least three varieties tastes better than a single species.

Why remove large bones before blending?

Because they break the blender blades and can damage the motor. Remove fish from broth, drain well, pick out large bones by hand before blending the rest with potatoes. Two minutes later you have smooth soup, no debris.

Can bouillabaisse be frozen?

Yes, the broth freezes well for up to three months. Fish and potatoes lose texture. Tip: freeze the blended soup alone, cook fresh fish on the day. Or freeze everything, but eat within two weeks so it stays just warm, not dry.