Bouillabaisse

If any thing says the Mediterranean to me, it is a fish soup like this.  You just want to sit back feel the sun on your face and dip in some fresh crusty pan . I do not think I can say much more than that so I am going straight to the recipe

You will need.

2kg/4dl mixed fish such as red mullet, monkfish, sea bass

5 tbsp olive oil

2 onions

6 cloves of garlic

2 leeks

1 fennel bulb

675g/1½lb over ripe tomatoes

1 tsp of fennel seeds

1 tsp tomato purée

1 small bunch freshly chopped flat leaf parsley

3 sprigs fresh thyme

2 bay leaves

500ml/1pt fish stock

2L/3½pt  water

1 tsp saffron stamens

Salt to taste

A dash of Noilly Prat

36 mussels

12 raw large prawns

Now the fish you need to make this dish are the fish that you cannot use for any thing else really, or that is the idea.  To small to make any thing out of but soup.  But with EU fishing quota’s you have to take what you can get. What you do not want is to much oily fish that is all.  And the other thing you need with this is a good home made fish stock, just get some fish bones boil them up for about half and hour and you are there.

Cut along the length of the prawns back and remove the intestinal tract, remove the head then put them in the fridge with your cleaned mussels , you will not need them till the end.  Cut the fish into 4cm/1½in chunks make sure that there are no bones and that they have been descaled. Once you have prepared all the fish, you can make the base. Any trimming bones and fish heads save you will need them

Now in a nice big pan heat the olive oil add the onion sliced, garlic crushed and the diced  leek. Let that cook for a bit then add all of the fennel sliced.  Cook every thing very gently for 10 minutes with the lid on the pan.  You want the vegetables soft, but you do not want any colour.

Roughly chop your  tomatoes and add them with the fennel seeds, tomato purée, all the fish trimmings and prawn sells, chopped parsley, thyme, saffron and bay leaves. Let that all cook down so every thing is nice and soft.  Now add the fish stock and water and bring to the boil.  Then simmer gently, with a lid on it, for 30-40 minutes.  As it cooks, you will have to skim the surface occasionally, removing any froth.

Once this has all cooked and reduced down you need to blitz every thing in a food processor and then pass every thing through a sieve in to a clean pan.  What you should end up with is a red-orange, fish, fennel, and aromatic flavoured fish base.

When you are ready for the soup bring it up to a simmer and season with some salt.  Add the fish and the mussels along with some Noilly Prat.  As it comes back to the simmer, add the prawns.  When the prawns are pink, the soup is ready.

Divide the fish up in to some bowls, use a slotted spoon or some such thing and then pour the liquid over the fish. Then sprinkle a little chopped parsley over that and you are done.