Speedy Bouillabaise
PREP TIME: 15 minutes
COOKING TIME: 30 minutes
SERVES: 4 as a main
Bouillabaise hails from the south of France, where the fishermen would whip up the stew using the fish that they were unable to sell to restaurants or markets. The celery in the mirepoix mixture lends a welcome savouriness to the sweet fish and aromatic broth.
What to do
- Place the saffron in a small heat-proof bowl and pour over 1 tsp of boiling water. Set aside.
- Heat the butter and oil in a deep saucepan. Add the mirepoix ingredients: onion, celery and carrot, along with the fennel and leek and season generously with salt. Cook over a medium heat, stirring often for 10 minutes, until the vegetables are tender.
- Add the garlic, tomato puree, chopped tomatoes and fish to the pan. Cook for 5 minutes, stirring often, then deglaze the pan with the sherry. Season with salt and pepper and pour in 500ml water. Bring to a simmer, cover the pan and simmer for 20 minutes. Transfer all of the liquid, fish and vegetables to a food processor or blender and blitz for a minute, scraping down the sides a couple of times. Strain the stock mixture into a bowl with a sieve placed on top and press down on all the solid bits to extract as much liquid as possible. You can skip this step if you prefer a chunkier texture, just lift out the cooked fish and discard as it will be tough. (If leaving the soup chunky, skip to the next step, and add the wine and citrus peels).
- Pour the broth back into the same saucepan and add the white wine and citrus peels. Bring to the gentlest simmer and poach the fish in the liquid until the mussels have opened (discard any that don’t) and the prawns are pink.
Stir the saffron into the aioli. - Divide the fish between warm bowls and ladle the broth over the top. Spoon a dollop of aioli over the top and garnish with chopped parsley. Serve with crusty bread.
What you will need
For the saffron aioli
- Pinch saffron
- 100g garlicky aioli
For the stock
- 25g unsalted butter
- 2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
- 1 onion, finely chopped
- 2 sticks celery, finely chopped
- 1 carrot, finely chopped
- ½ fennel bulb, finely chopped
- 1 leek, finely sliced
- 4 garlic cloves, crushed
- 2 tbsp tomato puree
- ½ tsp chilli flakes
- 2 large tomatoes, diced
- 2 raw shell-on prawns
- 75g hake, cut into 2cm pieces
- 50ml dry sherry, such as Fino
- Salt & pepper
For the bouillabaisse
- 250ml dry white wine
- 2 strips orange peel
- 2 strips lemon peel
- 200g hake, cut into bite-sized pieces
- 20 live mussels, cleaned
- 8 raw king prawns
- Chopped parsley, to garnish
Celery that pirouettes on your palate
‘Mirepoix’ is the aromatic combination of celery, onion and carrot that’s pivotal in building depth of flavour. Used as the starting point for many French favourites, our range of warming one pot wonders takes this celery medley and makes it quick and easy to make magic at home.
