← Nouns Cooking · French

Ingredients

• 4 tbsp Olive oil
• 1 Onion, chopped
• 1 Leek, white part, sliced
• 1 Fennel bulb, chopped, fronds kept
• 4 cloves Garlic, crushed
• 1 tbsp Tomato purée (paste)
• 4 large ripe tomatoes, chopped
• 2 pieces strips of orange peel
• 1 Star anise
• 1 pinch large pinch of saffron
• 1 Bay leaves
• 3 sprigs Thyme
• 1.5 l fish stock
• 300 g waxy potatoes, peeled and sliced 1 cm thick
• 1 kg mixed firm fish fillets (monkfish, gurnard, bream, hake), cut into large chunks
• 300 g Mussels, cleaned (optional)
• salt and black pepper
• 6 tbsp Mayonnaise
• 1 clove Garlic, crushed
• 1 pinch small pinch of saffron
• 1 pinch Cayenne pepper
• ½ Baguette, thinly sliced and toasted

Method

1. Heat the oil in a large, wide pot over medium heat. Cook the onion, leek and fennel for 10 min until soft but not browned, then add the garlic for 1 minute.
2. Stir in the tomato paste, tomatoes, orange peel, star anise, saffron, bay and thyme, then pour in the stock. Bring to the boil and simmer for 20 min.
3. Add the potato slices and simmer for 15 min, until tender.
4. Meanwhile, make the rouille: soak the saffron in 1 tsp hot water, then stir it into the mayonnaise with the garlic and cayenne. Toast the baguette slices.
5. Lower the fish into the simmering broth, firmest pieces first and delicate ones a minute later, and poach gently for 4–5 min. Add the mussels, cover and cook for 3 min until they open; throw away any that stay shut.
6. Pick out the orange peel and star anise and season the broth. Ladle the fish, potatoes and broth into warm bowls, scatter with fennel fronds and serve with the toasts and rouille.

Tips

• Before cooking, discard any mussels that are cracked or stay open when tapped.
• Ask your fishmonger for a sustainable mix of at least three kinds of fish; the variety is what makes the soup.

Sources

Written in our own words after cross-checking these recipes:

BBC Good Food Great British Chefs