Mediterranean Fish Soup with Rouille

Name: Mediterranean Fish Soup with Rouille
Yield: serves 6–8
Cuisine: France
Ingredients: 150 ml olive oil; 1 large clove garlic; 2.5 kg mixed fish – e.g. 1 whole plaice, ½ cod, 2 small whiting, 3 swimming crab or 1 common crab, 6–8 mussels, 8–10 shrimps or prawns; salt and freshly ground pepper; ¼ teaspoon saffron strands; pinch of cayenne; 1 bay leaf; 2 sprigs of thyme; home-made fish stock or water to cover; 5 large very ripe tomatoes or 1 × 400 g tin tomatoes, sliced; 300 g finely chopped onion; 5 sprigs of fennel

Preparation info

serves
6–8

Difficulty
Easy

Appears in

Darina Allen's Simply Delicious Suppers

By Darina Allen

Published 2001

About

Fish soups can be made with all sorts of combinations of fish. Don’t be the least bit bothered if you haven’t got exactly the fish I suggest, but use a combination of whole fish and shellfish. The crab adds almost essential richness in my opinion.

Ingredients

2.5 kg mixed fish – e.g. 1 whole plaice, ½ cod, 2 small whiting

Europe
France
Starter
Lunch
Snack
Pescatarian
Mediterranean
Soup
Gluten-free

Method

Cut the fish into chunks, bones, head and all (remove gills first). Heat the olive oil until smoking, add garlic and onions, toss for a minute or two, add the sliced tomatoes, herbs and fish including shells, cook for 10 minutes, then add enough fish stock or water to cover. Bring to a fast boil and cook for a further 10 minutes. Add more liquid if it reduces too much.

Soak the saffron