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Bouillabaisse Bouillabaisse soup

Bouillabaisse

The more kinds of fish and seafood you add, the tastier the soup! Only the French could have come up with this rich, fragrant fish soup with its note of wine. Historically, bouillabaisse was a stew that fishermen made from the part of the catch they couldn't sell. Today it's one of France's signature dishes.

Maria

Recipe author

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Composition / ingredients

Servings:

Water

2.5

Tomatoes

500

Hake (or other white sea fish)

400

Seafood mix (squid, mussels, octopus)

300

King prawns

200

White wine (dry)

200

Salmon or trout

100

Onion

Celery stalk (1 large or 2 small)

Garlic

Bay leaf

Vegetable oil

Tomato paste

Butter

Ground black pepper

Salt

Translation table of volumetric measures

Nutrients and energy value of the composition of the recipe

By weight of the composition:

Proteins 44 % 4 g

Fats 33 % 3 g

Carbohydrates 22 % 2 g

46 kcal

GI: 100 / 0 / 0

Cooking method

Step 1:

Gather the ingredients for the soup. For this dish you'll want 1–2 kinds of white sea fish (I'm using hake), a little salmon or trout (I'm using trout), and some shellfish and crustaceans. Ideally you'd use fresh large shrimp, mussels, and squid, but in practice a frozen seafood mix, frozen raw shrimp (raw, not pre-cooked!), and mussels work fine (I have two kinds — in the shell and out). The more seafood and fish, the tastier the soup.
Step 2:

Scale the white fish and the salmon or trout, trim off the fins, gut them, and cut them into serving pieces.
Step 3:

Pour boiling water over the tomatoes and slip off the skins. Cut the flesh into small cubes. Instead of fresh tomatoes, you can use canned diced tomatoes in their own juice. Cut all the vegetables as small as you can so they break down well during cooking.
Step 4:

Cut the celery into small cubes. If the stalk is large, one is enough. I had 2 small ones.
Step 5:

Peel the onion and garlic and chop them finely with a knife.
Step 6:

Peel the shrimp, removing the heads and shells. I recommend saving the shells so you can fry them in the oil before adding the vegetables, to flavor it.
Step 7:

In a heavy-bottomed pot, heat the olive oil and butter over medium heat.
Step 8:

Add the shrimp shells and fry, stirring, for 2 minutes. Then lift out the shells, leaving the fragrant oil in the pot. If you'd rather not spend the time, you can skip step 8.
Step 9:

Add the tomatoes, onion, garlic, and celery to the pot.
Step 10:

Add the tomato paste and pour in a cup of water.
Step 11:

Simmer at a gentle boil for 25 minutes, until the vegetables have broken down.
Step 12:

Pour the remaining water and the dry white wine into the pot, and add the cut white fish and salmon or trout along with the bay leaves. Bring the soup to a boil and cook over low heat for about 30 minutes, until the fish is done.
Step 13:

Add the seafood mix and the peeled shrimp to the soup. I also added a dozen or so mussels in the shell for a nice presentation. Season everything with salt and pepper and stir. Cook for another 2–3 minutes.
Step 14:

Take the finished bouillabaisse off the heat.
Step 15:

Cover the pot and let the soup rest for 15–20 minutes. Then ladle it into bowls. Enjoy!

Never thaw fish completely if you're going to cut it up! It's best to put it on the bottom shelf of the fridge and let it thaw just slightly. Then everything from cutting it into steaks or large pieces to filleting it will go smoothly. Fully thawed fish risks turning into a shapeless mush when you cut it.