Fish Soup Basquaise

This is a modern interpretation of the classic onion and pepper fish soup of Bayonne. It is moderately spicy on account of the hot red pepper flakes. The Basques have a fondness for their home-grown piment d’Espelette, which imparts a rounder, deeper pepper taste to the soup than ordinary cayenne or the common crushed hot red pepper.

I attended the pepper festival in the village of Espelette, where the peppers are grown. This festival is held each year in late October to celebrate t