Provençal-Style Fish Soup with Rouille

Name: Provençal-Style Fish Soup with Rouille
Yield: 8 to 10 servings
Ingredients: 3 pounds fish bones and heads (gills removed), white-fleshed fish only; 1 onion, peeled and sliced; 1 small carrot, peeled and sliced; 1 small fennel bulb, trimmed and sliced; 3 medium tomatoes, cored and coarsely chopped; 1 head of garlic, cut in half horizontally; Olive oil, enough to cover the bottom of the pan; 1/4 teaspoon black peppercorns; 1/4 teaspoon fennel seeds; 1/4 teaspoon coriander seeds; A few sprigs of fresh herbs (such as fennel tops, wild fennel, savory, thyme, or parsley); 1 bay leaf; A pinch of saffron threads; 2 cups dry white wine; 1 1/2 quarts water; Salt; 2 pounds assorted fish fillets (rockfish, ling cod, halibut, or sea robin, or any combination); Extra-virgin olive oil, just enough to coat the fish; 2 tablespoons chopped fennel tops, wild fennel, or parsley; 4 garlic cloves, crushed and coarsely chopped; Salt; 1 pound mussels; Rouille (opposite); 3 tablespoons olive oil; 1 medium onion, diced fine; 1 leek, white part only, cleaned, rinsed, and diced; 1 medium fennel bulb, trimmed and diced; A pinch of saffron threads; 4 or 5 medium tomatoes (about 3/4 pound), peeled, seeded, and diced; 8 to 10 slices country-style bread

December 20, 2011

This is more than a soup; it is a generous meal fit for a gathering, and it has everything I love about food and flavor. I learned to make it from my French “mother,” Lulu. It’s one of the longest recipes in the book, but taken in parts it is not hard to make. I think of it as several steps: first make a fish stock, then prepare the fish and shellfish; make the rouille (garlic mayonnaise flavored with pepper purée); make the soup base with vegetables and the fish stock; toast garlic croutons; and finally put it all together, cooking the fish and shellfish in the deeply flavored soup base, and serve it with rouille and croutons to pass at the table.

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