Puréed Fish Soup

Name: Puréed Fish Soup (Soupe de Poisson à la Marseillaise)
Yield: Makes 4 first-course servings, OR 6 first-course servings if you’re using pesto or Aïoli
Cuisine: France
Ingredients: 3 pounds [1.3 kg] assorted whole fish such as rockfish, John Dory, striped bass, Spanish mackerel (regular mackerel is too oily), red snapper, walleye, and kingfish. (Avoid salmon, sardines, and other oily, strongly flavored fish, and don’t use monkfish—unless you can get the delightfully hideous and gelatinous head—because it won’t supply you with enough bones to make the basic broth.); 3 pounds [1.3 kg] assorted whole fish such as rockfish, John Dory, striped bass, Spanish mackerel (regular mackerel is too oily), red snapper, walleye, and kingfish. (Avoid salmon, sardines, and other oily, strongly flavored fish, and don’t use monkfish—unless you can get the delightfully hideous and gelatinous head—because it won’t supply you with enough bones to make the basic broth.); 3 pounds [1.3 kg] assorted whole fish such as rockfish, John Dory, striped bass, Spanish mackerel (regular mackerel is too oily), red snapper, walleye, and kingfish. (Avoid salmon, sardines, and other oily, strongly flavored fish, and don’t use monkfish—unless you can get the delightfully hideous and gelatinous head—because it won’t supply you with enough bones to make the basic broth.); 3 pounds [1.3 kg] assorted whole fish such as rockfish, John Dory, striped bass, Spanish mackerel (regular mackerel is too oily), red snapper, walleye, and kingfish. (Avoid salmon, sardines, and other oily, strongly flavored fish, and don’t use monkfish—unless you can get the delightfully hideous and gelatinous head—because it won’t supply you with enough bones to make the basic broth.); 3 pounds [1.3 kg] assorted whole fish such as rockfish, John Dory, striped bass, Spanish mackerel (regular mackerel is too oily), red snapper, walleye, and kingfish. (Avoid salmon, sardines, and other oily, strongly flavored fish, and don’t use monkfish—unless you can get the delightfully hideous and gelatinous head—because it won’t supply you with enough bones to make the basic broth.); 3 pounds [1.3 kg] assorted whole fish such as rockfish, John Dory, striped bass, Spanish mackerel (regular mackerel is too oily), red snapper, walleye, and kingfish. (Avoid salmon, sardines, and other oily, strongly flavored fish, and don’t use monkfish—unless you can get the delightfully hideous and gelatinous head—because it won’t supply you with enough bones to make the basic broth.); 3 pounds [1.3 kg] assorted whole fish such as rockfish, John Dory, striped bass, Spanish mackerel (regular mackerel is too oily), red snapper, walleye, and kingfish. (Avoid salmon, sardines, and other oily, strongly flavored fish, and don’t use monkfish—unless you can get the delightfully hideous and gelatinous head—because it won’t supply you with enough bones to make the basic broth.); 3 pounds [1.3 kg] assorted whole fish such as rockfish, John Dory, striped bass, Spanish mackerel (regular mackerel is too oily), red snapper, walleye, and kingfish. (Avoid salmon, sardines, and other oily, strongly flavored fish, and don’t use monkfish—unless you can get the delightfully hideous and gelatinous head—because it won’t supply you with enough bones to make the basic broth.); 3 pounds [1.3 kg] assorted whole fish such as rockfish, John Dory, striped bass, Spanish mackerel (regular mackerel is too oily), red snapper, walleye, and kingfish. (Avoid salmon, sardines, and other oily, strongly flavored fish, and don’t use monkfish—unless you can get the delightfully hideous and gelatinous head—because it won’t supply you with enough bones to make the basic broth.); 1 whole head garlic, plus 3 (optional) cloves garlic chopped fine, crushed to a paste with the side of a chef’s knife; ¼ cup [60 ml] extra-virgin olive oil; 1 medium-size onion, chopped coarse; ½ cup [125 ml] dry white wine; 1 bouquet garni containing a 3-inch [7.5-cm] strip of orange zest and may be a few sprigs of marjoram, savory, or oregano in addition to the usual bay leaf, parsley, and thyme; 1 bouquet garni containing a 3-inch [7.5-cm] strip of orange zest and may be a few sprigs of marjoram, savory, or oregano in addition to the usual bay leaf, parsley, and thyme; 1 bouquet garni containing a 3-inch [7.5-cm] strip of orange zest and may be a few sprigs of marjoram, savory, or oregano in addition to the usual bay leaf, parsley, and thyme; 1 bouquet garni containing a 3-inch [7.5-cm] strip of orange zest and may be a few sprigs of marjoram, savory, or oregano in addition to the usual bay leaf, parsley, and thyme; 1 bouquet garni containing a 3-inch [7.5-cm] strip of orange zest and may be a few sprigs of marjoram, savory, or oregano in addition to the usual bay leaf, parsley, and thyme; 1 bouquet garni containing a 3-inch [7.5-cm] strip of orange zest and may be a few sprigs of marjoram, savory, or oregano in addition to the usual bay leaf, parsley, and thyme; 1 bouquet garni containing a 3-inch [7.5-cm] strip of orange zest and may be a few sprigs of marjoram, savory, or oregano in addition to the usual bay leaf, parsley, and thyme; 1 bouquet garni containing a 3-inch [7.5-cm] strip of orange zest and may be a few sprigs of marjoram, savory, or oregano in addition to the usual bay leaf, parsley, and thyme; 6 ripe tomatoes, chopped coarse; 1 cup [225 ml] pesto without the cheese, or 1½ cups aïoli (use either of these if not using the crushed garlic cloves); 1 cup [225 ml] pesto without the cheese, or 1½ cups aïoli (use either of these if not using the crushed garlic cloves); 1 cup [225 ml] pesto without the cheese, or 1½ cups aïoli (use either of these if not using the crushed garlic cloves); salt; pepper; 30 thin slices baguette, very lightly toasted in the oven

Soupe de Poisson à la Marseillaise

Preparation info

Makes
4
first-course servings

Difficulty
Easy

Appears in

Glorious French Food

By James Peterson

Published 2002

About

The beauty of this soup is that you don’t have to worry about overcooking the fish. In fact, you want to overcook the fish so that it releases all its flavor into the surrounding liquid and falls apart into a smooth purée as you work it through a food mill. This soup is also great when you have fish with little bones that make it almost impossible to debone without tearing the fillets into shreds.

Traditional recipes tell you just to boil the whole gutted fish in a pot and then work

Ingredients

Europe
France
Starter
Pescatarian
Mediterranean
Soup

Ingredients

Method