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Classic Bouillabaisse

Author Lina
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Classic bouillabaisse, just like in Provence

Ingredients

Fish broth
  • 1 kg fish heads, bones, crustacean heads, shells, clams, the more variety the better the broth
  • 1 a piece of large onion
  • carrot, red or orange bell pepper, celery, fennel
  • 3-4 cloves garlic
  • herbs de Provence, pepper, a little salt
  • olive oil
Bouillabaisse
  • 0,5 kg various fish and shrimps (there may be more fish)
  • 1 a large onion
  • 1 a pair
  • 0,5 fennel
  • 1 garlic
  • 1-2 tomatoes
  • 100 ml white wine
  • olive oil, herbs de Provence, cayenne pepper, black pepper, saffron, a few bay leaves, a few sprigs of fresh thyme, orange peel, salt
  • 2 l broth

Instructions

Broth

  1. Heat the pot, then pour olive oil and fry finely chopped vegetables. The finer it is, the more flavor the broth will absorb. Fry the onions, leeks, fennel, carrots and peppers until they soften and start to caramelize. Add spices, herbs de Provence, pepper, cayenne pepper, saffron, bay leaves.
  2. Add fish heads, bones, shellfish heads, shells, whatever you have. We are already used to freezing the heads, fins and bones of larger fish and shrimp. The greater the variety, the richer the broth will be. Add water to cover everything well. A good ratio is 1 kg of ingredients to 2 liters of water. Cook. The longer you cook, the more flavor the ingredients will impart to the broth. After cooking, the fish should be completely tasteless. Even if you cook in a pressure cooker, which I would highly recommend, not only because of the time, but also because the pressure cooker does not evaporate not only the liquid but also the aromas, still cook on low heat for at least an hour and a half.
  3. Strain, cool. Fish, like other broths, can be cooked when you have the time and ingredients and freeze.

Bouillabaisse

  1. Prepare the ingredients. Peel the onion and cut it finely, chop the leek, fennel, clean the garlic and crush it. Wash and cut the tomatoes. Clean the fish. Wash the shrimp, if you don't want the heads in the soup, keep only the tails. If cooking from frozen stock, reheat and bring to a boil.
  2. Heat a pot, then add olive oil and fry the onions, leeks and fennel until soft and starting to caramelise. Add spices, herbs de Provence, pepper, cayenne pepper, saffron, bay leaves, taste with orange peel.
  3. Add tomatoes and garlic, saute everything again. Add small fish. Add the wine, stir the pot. Let the alcohol evaporate for a few minutes and pour the stock to cover everything. Cover the pot and let it simmer for at least half an hour.
  4. When everything is well drained, turn off the heat. Fish bones should be well cooked and soft. Refine everything. Taste for salt and pepper. Now it's time to adjust the flavor.
  5. Finish cooking the boullabaisse. Put the whole fish or fish fillet into the pot with the prepared soup base and cook. If you are going to cook several different fish, put the bigger ones in the pot first, then add the shrimp tails at the end. Just don't overcook the fish!

Notes

A large pot
Blender
Pressure cooker
Chezz Camille boullabaise is served as a soup. The fish is boiled whole and served scooped out of the pot, next to it. Diners can choose how they eat. Soup separately, snacking on toast with rouille sauce, or with fish, which must then be put back on the plate. They don't eat any parsley anymore. clams does not boil at the end either. To me, it is more beautiful and tastier, with parsley and chives, when everything that has been cooked is served in a pot, and the diners can add as much as they want with a ladle.