Traditional Marseille bouillabaisse (bouillabaisse)

Marseille is the home of bouillabaisse, where it was originally cooked by local fishermen as a simple, filling meal. It should include a variety of fish, including scorpion fish, to be truly authentic.

• serves

  4-6

• prep

  20 minutes

• cook

  3:20 hours

• difficulty

  Easy

Ingredients

• 4 large potatoes, sliced into 1 cm-thick pieces
• 1 whole red mullet
• 1 whole john dory
• 1 whole scorpion fish
• 4 cod cutlets
• 2 tbsp aioli
• 2 tbsp rouille
• 1 cup croutons

Broth

• 700 g whole rockfish
• 1 cod head
• 2 onions, chopped
• 2 fennel bulbs, chopped
• 6 garlic cloves, chopped
• 750 ml (3 cups) white wine
• 2 tbsp tomato paste
• 2 tomatoes, chopped
• generous pinch of salt
• 1 tbsp ground sweet paprika
• 1 tbsp saffron threads
• 4 litres water

Instructions

To make the broth, place all ingredients in a large stockpot. Bring to the boil then reduce heat and simmer for 3 hours.

Place one large strainer on top of another over large saucepan, then strain the broth, pressing the fish it into the strainer to extract all the rich flavours. Discard fish, reserving only the broth.

Return broth to medium heat and add potatoes. Cook for 10 minutes, then add remaining fish and cook for another 10 minutes.

Remove fish and potatoes and place on a large platter. Pour the broth into a large soup bowl. Serve the broth with aioli, rouille and croutons as an entrée, and serve the fish as a main meal.

Cook's Notes

Oven temperatures are for conventional; if using fan-forced (convection), reduce the temperature by 20˚C. | We use Australian tablespoons and cups: 1 teaspoon equals 5 ml; 1 tablespoon equals 20 ml; 1 cup equals 250 ml. | All herbs are fresh (unless specified) and cups are lightly packed. | All vegetables are medium size and peeled, unless specified. | All eggs are 55-60 g, unless specified.