The bouillabaisse

As I'm at home this week, I'm going to cook a bouillabaisse for tomorrow night, I love this dish, it's a delight!

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The bouillabaisse is a recipe of traditional cuisine of Provence.

It has its origin in Marseille which is one of the emblems, it consists of a fish soup that is eaten with bread croutons often toasted and spread with rust (Provencal sauce, spicy and raised), fish served whole and potatoes.

Its name comes from "When that boils, lowers the fire" or "boils and drops".

The bouillabaisse can be accompanied by rosé wine, red or white, the three colors fit perfectly with this dish. The ideal is to choose a Provencal wine.

Origin

This dish is native to ancient Greece, from the time of the founding of Marseille in the seventh century BC. In fact, the local population was eating a simple stew of fish cooked from unsold fish brought back by the fishermen.
The bouillabaisse also appears in Roman mythology: it is the soup that Venus made Vulcan eat to soothe him to sleep, in order to go frolic with Mars.

Today, many visitors to Marseille consider the tasting of the bouillabaisse a must. Prepared with fish cooked in water or white wine, seasoned with garlic, olive oil or saffron, this recipe is fully integrated into the discovery of the Phocaean city. The most commonly used fish are scorpion fish, red mullet, live fish, stonemason, conger, sea bream, whiting, monkfish and gurnard. According to every Marseillais, the true authentic recipe of the bouillabaisse is that of his mother or his grandmother, who traditionally transmits secretly, exclusively from mother to daughter.

A real market of bouillabaisse was created in Marseille. The chic restaurants of the Old Port make even their catch plate to tempt the silver tourists. In parallel, other establishments, less sides, propose bouillabaisses realized with frozen fish, coming from all the seas of the world for the less rich tourists.

This stew was once a soup of fishermen, or soup of the poor, made from unsaleable or unsold rock fish, remained in the bottom of the basket of sinners, the return of fishing in the creeks, between Marseille and Toulon.

The current Provencal bouillabaisse is made with fish cooked in a court-broth of water or white wine, with garlic, olive oil, or saffron. It is traditionally served in two stages : the soup, in which stale bread is soaked, or grilled, rubbed with garlic and covered with rust, then the fish. Depending on the taste of the guest, the two can be mixed in a soup plate, or served separately.

Personally, I prefer that everything be mixed. It seems better to me and we are surprised to release a different piece of fish with each bite as if we were fishing.

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Bouillabaisse Charter

In 1980, a charter of Bouillabaisse was defined by the main restaurateurs of Marseille, to define the ingredients and basic presentation.

This charter was established because of unscrupulous restaurant owners who serve in the most tourist restaurants such as the Old Port of Marseille for example under the name of bouillabaisse any fish soup, taking advantage of the ignorance of tourists of the true nature of this dish.

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Recipe

Ingredients

• 1 kg of rock fish
• 1.5 kg of St. Peter's
• 4 bright
• 1 kg of scorpion fish
• 1 kg of Congre
• 2 leeks
• 1 onion
• 2 tomatoes
• 6 potatoes melting flesh
• 3 cloves of garlic
• 2 bay leaves
• Olive oil
• 3 pieces of garlic
• 2 or 3 bay leaves
• Saffron
• Cayenne pepper
• Dried fennel in branch or powder
• Flat parsley
• Fine salt
• Coarse salt
• Mill pepper (black or white)

Ingredient for the sauce

• 25 cl of olive oil
• 2 egg yolks
• 1 tablespoon of strong mustard
• 2 cloves garlic

Preparation

The fish soup

Wash fish and leeks and chop leeks coarsely.
Chop the onions, crush the cloves of garlic.
Wash the parsley and crush the peeled tomatoes (small tip, make a cross on the top of the tomato with a knife, then soak in boiling water for about ten minutes, then the skin is very easily removed or there is in the trade of tomato peelers as for potatoes).

In a pot over low heat, sauté the vegetables in olive oil with bay leaf, fennel, parsley and cayenne pepper.
Cook for about 15 minutes then add rock fish and season. Let it color for 15 minutes, then pour about 3 liters of boiling water over it. Boil gently for 10 minutes.

Skip the preparation to Chinese.
Then add the saffron and check the seasoning.

Fish and potatoes

Scale and empty the remaining fish and cut into pieces.
Cut the potatoes into cubes and then cook them in a saucepan by covering them with half fish and half water, salt and pepper.

Toast bread slices lightly oiled in the oven and once out of the oven, rub with a clove of garlic and make croutons or pieces as you can.

Boil the rest of the fish stock to a boil and place the fish cut into pieces starting with the firm pieces that take longer to cook.

Add molds for decoration if you wish.

In a large dish, arrange the potatoes and fish on them.

Then pour the bouillabaisse in the soup bowl on the croutons and serve with the fish.

The sauce

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Chop the 2 cloves of garlic.
In a container, mix mustard and egg yolks.
Then add the garlic, then gradually whisk with 25 cl of olive oil as a mayonnaise.

The most difficult in this recipe is to get the fish, if you do not have the chance to live on the edge of the Mediterranean.

Enjoy !