AuthorBen WatsonCategorySeafoodI’m never sure where a fish soup crosses the line and becomes a bouillabaisse but suspect that my cooks cheat version sits somewhere in the middle. Rouille spread on toasted bagette, saffron, a handful of mussels in the shell and a selection of Mediterranean fish would definitely make it a bouillabaisse but, given the Spanish sofrito base, I think we’ll stick with fish soup.
For the fish stock, I prefer something reasonably light but for a classic Provence or Basque fish soup or bouillabaisse they really go to town making sure there is plenty of fish heads and skin as well as white fish frames and intentionally boil the bones to produce a thick cloudy stock. Some recipes even call for blitzing the bones and passing it through a potato ricer / food mill. The choice is yours.
For the fish, to keep it simple and cheap, I use those little red mullet fillets you can quite often get from the fish van in Totnes market and, correct me if you know something I don’t, I can’t see anything wrong with frozen precooked and shelled mussels. After all, we are cheating.
If you like a bit of texture; finely dice the fennel and onion and sauté with the olive oil in a heavy saucepan for five minutes or so.
Add the Pernod, cook for a minute or so, and add the sofrito, white wine and stock. Cook for a few minutes until it all comes together and add the fish.
Bring back to the simmer, add the mussels and/or prawns, allow them to heat through and serve.
To make it a main course; increase the quantities by 25% and serve with 8 slices of toasted baguette or ciabatta and 150gms of rouille or some sort of garlicky chilli mayo.
Ingredients
Directions
If you like a bit of texture; finely dice the fennel and onion and sauté with the olive oil in a heavy saucepan for five minutes or so.
Add the Pernod, cook for a minute or so, and add the sofrito, white wine and stock. Cook for a few minutes until it all comes together and add the fish.
Bring back to the simmer, add the mussels and/or prawns, allow them to heat through and serve.
To make it a main course; increase the quantities by 25% and serve with 8 slices of toasted baguette or ciabatta and 150gms of rouille or some sort of garlicky chilli mayo.