Today bouillabaisse soup is included in the menu of elite restaurants and is considered one of the iconic dishes of French cuisine. Meanwhile, like many famous dishes, this soup is of purely folk origin: fishermen were the first to cook it from the remains of their catch. Today, many people specially travel to Marseille to try the famous soup, and then cook it at home themselves.
A little history
History has not preserved the name of the cook who first prepared bouillabaisse - this dish is truly national. It was invented by sailors who lived by fishing. By evening, they were not always able to completely sell their catch, and in order not to throw away the fish, they cooked themselves a tasty, nutritious and at the same time cheap soup.
Since different fish were used to prepare the dish each time, there was never a single recipe for bouillabaisse. If trade went well, there were only a few fish and a handful of shrimp left for soup. If there were few buyers, and there were a lot of leftover goods, then the soup turned out to be more “rich”, multi-component.
Over time, the soup gained popularity, first in France, and then abroad. A legend has emerged that it was bouillabaisse that the ancient goddess Aphrodite once fed her husband Hephaestus. Tourists began to come to Marseille specifically to taste the legendary dish. And, of course, this affected the cost of food. From the food of the poor, bouillabaisse turned into an elite dish, for the preparation of which they began to use expensive varieties of fish and rare seafood. Today, a plate of bouillabaisse in a good Marseille restaurant can cost up to two hundred euros.
The origin of the original name of the soup is not known for certain. There is a legend that one of its inventors gave his name to the soup. There is also a version that the name “bouillabaisse” comes from the French verbs “to boil” and “to reduce heat”, that is, the technology of its preparation is encrypted in the name of the soup.
Variations
The required ingredients of the soup include, of course, fish of all kinds, vegetables (tomatoes, onions 
, garlic), sometimes - seafood (mussels, squid 
, shrimps). Bouillabaisse is seasoned with saffron, orange zest and other spices. There should be a lot of fish in the soup: more than a kilogram of live weight for each eater. Bouillabaisse is a thick and rich soup, almost as thick as a classic stew.
Bouillabaisse differs from other fish soups in its special preparation technology: before adding it to water, vegetables are fried and stewed in oil. In addition, for bouillabaisse it is necessary to use a large number of different varieties of fish and seafood.
Among the many soup recipes, the most famous are Marseille and Normandy bouillabaisse. Their main difference is that Marseille bouillabaisse is simply a rich soup made from different types of fish, while the Normandy version also adds potatoes.
It is believed that real Marseille bouillabaisse can only be prepared from fish that can be caught in the immediate vicinity of Marseille. To expensive restaurants located far from Marseille, the required varieties of fish are delivered by plane. However, bouillabaisse prepared directly in Marseille is still considered the best, if only because the freshest fish is used for its preparation.
Using authentic fish such as sunfish, gurnard or sea scorpion is desirable but not required. No less tasty bouillabaisse can be prepared from other types, the main thing is to use different fish, at least five, and preferably ten varieties. The secret of the amazing taste lies in the multi-component nature of bouillabaisse.
The art of cooking
There is nothing particularly difficult about cooking bouillabaisse. First of all, you need to prepare the broth. For it, you can use both fish waste (heads, tails, fins) and small inexpensive fish. When the broth is cooked, it must be strained and the fish from which it was cooked must be discarded.
Spices are added to the prepared rich broth. To do this, you will need a small clean bag made of muslin or regular gauze. Coarsely chopped orange zest, black peppercorns, and bay leaf are placed in a bag. 
, saffron, thyme and basil. The bag should be tightly tied and lowered into the hot broth, where it will remain until the end of cooking.
Vegetables must be placed in bouillabaisse - a couple of onions, a few cloves of garlic and a couple of tomatoes without skins (canned tomatoes can be used). Onions and garlic should be chopped and fried in olive oil, then add mashed tomatoes, simmer a little, pour in a glass of dry white wine, and then add fish broth.
Then comes the next stage of cooking the soup: large pieces of fish of different varieties are placed in a boiling broth with vegetables and cooked until tender. Five minutes before the end of cooking, add seafood to the bouillabaisse. After this, you should remove the bag of seasonings from the broth - and the soup is ready.
Serving rules
Traditionally, bouillabaisse is served with croutons, which are dipped in spicy rouille sauce, and white wine. The croutons perfectly highlight the taste of the soup, and in combination with the spicy sauce they also give it an original flavor.
Rui sauce is made from garlic, hot peppers, salt, olive oil and fresh egg yolks. Saffron gives this sauce a special aroma. The more garlic you use, the spicier the food will turn out, and the tastier it will become. But it must be borne in mind that bouillabaisse, generously flavored with garlic sauce, is unlikely to be suitable for a romantic date. Those who are allergic to garlic or simply have a sore stomach should not try this dish.
Without spicy dressing, bouillabaisse can be considered a light, almost dietary dish. Fish and seafood are easily digestible, but do not lead to weight gain or a feeling of heaviness in the stomach. This soup perfectly restores strength and helps fight fatigue.
Maria Bykova
Remove the skin from the monkfish, cut out the ridge and tail (keep them for the broth), clean the fillet from the films, holding the film with a paper towel. Clean the haddock and sea bream and cut into fillets. Clean the shrimp. Remove gills and eyes from fish heads. Also save all heads, bones, and shells for the broth.
Pour 2 liters of water into a saucepan, bring to a boil, add peeled and coarsely chopped onions, carrots, green leeks, both types of celery and half of one head of fennel. Cook for 30 minutes. over medium heat. Add wine and cloves and bring to a boil again.
Cut the tomatoes in half (or into quarters if they are large), add to the boiling broth along with black peppercorns, crushed with the flat side of a knife, fennel seeds and bay leaves. Once it boils, continue cooking over medium heat for 5-7 minutes.
Place fish and shrimp heads, bones and shells into the broth. Bring to a boil, reduce heat to low and simmer for another 30 minutes, loosely covering the pan. The foam that forms on the broth should be removed regularly with a slotted spoon or strainer.
While the broth is hot, strain through a very fine sieve (or colander lined with a towel or several layers of gauze) into a clean saucepan. Throw away the contents of the broth. Salt the broth, add saffron. Keep warm.
Remove any rough or damaged outer leaves from the remaining one and a half heads of fennel. Chop into thin petals. Cut the white part of the leek into thin slices. Then thoroughly rinse the chopped vegetables from soil and sand and dry completely.
Pour 3 tbsp into a large saucepan with a thick bottom. l. olive oil, add prepared fennel and fry for 3 minutes. over low heat, stirring all the time. Then add the prepared leek and fry for another 1 minute. Pour in the warm broth, bring to a boil and cook for 15 minutes, without letting it boil violently.
Cut all prepared fish fillets into pieces with a side of about 3 cm. Large shrimp can be cut in half lengthwise. Add Pernod and lemon juice, fish and shrimp to the boiling broth, cook for 3 minutes. Add scallops, bring to a boil, remove pan from heat. Close the lid.
Cut the baguette into pieces approximately 0.5 cm thick; grease one side with butter. Bake at 180°C until golden brown, 10–12 minutes. Remove from the oven, cool slightly and lightly rub the croutons with a clove of garlic cut in half on one side.
There is a great variety in world cuisine. Here you have both Russian fish soup and Hungarian halasle. Ukrainian fish soup is very tasty. But bouillabaisse soup - we will give recipes with photos of this culinary masterpiece here - is special. It is so delicious that there is even a wonderful (and somewhat naive) legend. They say that the goddess of beauty Aphrodite, in order to keep her husband Hephaestus near her, fed him bouillabaisse every day. However, the soup recipe was not born in Ancient Greece, but in the French city of Marseille. The word “bouillabaisse” itself comes from two French verbs - “boil” and “reduce heat”. Thus, the name of the soup contains its recipe. But in our article we will reveal in more detail the various methods of preparing bouillabaisse.
The history of Bouillabaisse soup
This Marseille ear has no authorship. It is truly a folk dish. When Provençal fishermen were unable to sell their catch in a day, they prepared soup from the leftovers for themselves and their families. Thus, the ingredients each time were different breeds of the inhabitants of the Mediterranean Sea. On another day, there were even lobsters and shrimps, although most often there were a handful of small, dead fish. But Provençal chefs knew how to cook it so deliciously that bouillabaisse gained worldwide popularity. When it became fashionable among the European aristocracy to spend the summer on the French Riviera, Marseille fish soup began to be served in first-class restaurants. Gradually, the classic bouillabaisse, the recipe for which we will definitely tell you, has acquired national variations. All French provinces now prepare this soup. And you can even try bouillabaisse in Brazilian style! But we will start preparing Marseille-style fish soup.
Bouillabaisse: classic recipe
The secret to the success of this fish soup lies in the use of several types of Mediterranean fish. There should be at least six (and preferably ten) varieties in the pan. Unlike fish soup, which is prepared by boiling, the bouillabaisse recipe suggests making it in several stages. The fish is cooked separately to create a rich broth. And vegetables for soup are pre-fried and stewed. Nowadays a bouquet garni or Calvados is added to bouillabaisse for flavor. But the poor Marseilles fishermen did not know about such delights. They used orange zest, saffron, fennel, garlic, onions and tomatoes. Potatoes were sometimes included in bouillabaisse. But this is a Toulon version of a popular Provençal dish. And in Brittany, fish soup is usually acidified with vinegar. We ate the bouillabaisse hot. The Marseille fish soup was always served with lightly toasted crispy baguettes and rouille garlic sauce.
Classic bouillabaisse soup: recipe with photos
First of all, let's look at the ingredients. It is better to take small fish and some delicacy (salmon, shrimp, other seafood). The quantity must be substantial. After all, for two liters of bouillabaisse soup you need to take a kilogram and three hundred grams of various sea inhabitants. We gut small assorted fish. Cut off the tail of the salmon and select large bones. If the shrimp have a shell, clean them. Place bones, skin, and small fish in a saucepan of cold water (two liters). We also put shrimp shells there. Place the pan on high heat and cover with a lid. Note that from the fish stocks we still have a salmon carcass (or other elite fish) and peeled shrimp. The recipe calls for adding them to bouillabaisse soup later. Cook the broth until ready. Based on the amount of fish, we will get it very strong, with a rich taste. After the broth is ready, you need to strain it. All solid particles can be thrown away, to the delight of the cats.
Step two: making an aromatic bouquet
The next important step in preparing Marseille fish soup is creating its smell. In French cuisine there is a culinary term - “bouquet garni”. Spices are placed in a clean cloth made of natural fabric. The edges are folded up like a knapsack and tied with thread. It turns out something like a tea bag. A classic bouquet garni must include three spices: bay leaf, parsley and thyme. But in Provence they use a different set of fragrant herbs. Wrap an orange peel, two or three black peppercorns, a bay leaf, a pinch of saffron, thyme, and basil in a rag or gauze. Only with such a bouquet of garni will you get an authentic bouillabaisse fish soup. Recipes for regional varieties of this Marseille fish soup suggest creating a fragrant picture with the help of cloves, fennel seeds and a mixture of fish spices. Throw this bag into a pan with hot broth so that the thread hangs down. This way we can pull out the spices at the right time.
Step three: frying and stewing vegetables
To do this, it is best to use a wok or, more authentically, a thick-walled cauldron. Pour some olive oil into the bottom. When it warms up well, put two finely chopped onions and five to six finely chopped (or passed through a press) cloves of garlic into the cauldron. Fry until golden brown. Next, cut two or three tomatoes into the cauldron. Bouillabaisse soup (classic recipe) is prepared with fresh tomatoes, but, in principle, you can use homemade preparations. Mash the tomatoes canned in their own juice with a spoon and place them in the cauldron. We are waiting for the tomatoes to release their juice. Add a glass of white table wine. Turn off the fire under the cauldron. Pour in the strained broth and arrange the bouquet garni. Let it brew for about a quarter of an hour.
The final stage
Now let's deal with expensive varieties of fish and seafood. The shrimp need to be peeled. Cut the squid, if present, into small pieces. Salmon, salmon and similar elite inhabitants of the Mediterranean Sea should be cut into large pieces (you can fillet them if desired). If you want to make Toulon bouillabaisse, the recipe suggests peeling two or three large potatoes and cutting them into slices. Place pieces of fish into the infused broth. We put potatoes there too. And put the cauldron on a small fire. Cook until the potatoes are ready - about twenty minutes. Now you can add seafood to the common cauldron. Mussels, squid and shrimp require short cooking times, otherwise they will become tough. Keep them on the fire for no more than five minutes. Remove the pan from the stove and remove the bouquet garni from it. That's it, the soup is ready!
Croutons
The French bouillabaisse soup recipe teaches you not only how to prepare, but also how to serve. An indispensable companion to Marseille fish soup is a plate of garlic croutons and rouille sauce. They eat soup like this. Dip the cracker into the sauce, take a bite, and eat the bouillabaisse. How to make croutons? Take a French baguette and remove the crust (with a grater or knife). Cut into round slices. Heat three tablespoons of olive oil in a frying pan. Add 3 cloves of garlic passed through a press. Fry the croutons on both sides over low heat. Now spread them on one side with butter and place them in an oven preheated to 190 o C for five minutes. It is customary to serve two or three croutons with a serving of Marseille fish soup.
Rouille sauce
JK Rowling's Harry Potter book also mentions bouillabaisse. The recipe for its preparation was known to the house elves who set the table on the occasion of the three-mage tournament. However, they served the famous Provençal dish incorrectly. The magical bouillabaisse resembled “a bowl full of a stew of shrimp, oysters, clams and crab.” “Where is the rui?” - any Marseillean would ask. This sauce is reminiscent of the popular aioli, but even more delicious. Grind one yolk in a bowl with the following ingredients (a pinch of each): salt, paprika, cayenne pepper, saffron. Without stopping whisking, pour in half a glass of olive oil. Add it carefully, as in homemade mayonnaise, so that the sauce does not separate. The mass should lighten. You may need less oil - look at it. The consistency of the roux should resemble mayonnaise. In restaurant cuisine, this sauce is prepared with saffron threads, which are soaked in a spoon of white wine, lemon juice and
Peel and chop the onion and garlic. Wash the thyme, dry it and separate it into leaves. Wash the tomatoes and make a cross-shaped cut on top. Scald with boiling water and remove the skin. Cut the fruits into small cubes.
Heat 2 tbsp in a saucepan. l. olive oil. Add onion and garlic and fry for 5 minutes. until soft. Add tomatoes and pour in wine. Cook until the wine has evaporated. Place bay leaf, thyme, saffron and chili powder in a saucepan. Pour in 600 ml of water, stir, bring to a boil.
Gut small fish and remove gills. Wash thoroughly and add to the pan. Cook over low heat for 1 hour without stirring.
Strain the soup through a sieve into a clean saucepan.
Thaw mussels and shrimp in advance by placing them in a bowl of cold water. *If the shrimp are in their shell, they must be peeled. Wash the fish fillet and cut into pieces. Add mussels, shrimp and fish to the soup pot and cook for 20 minutes.
Make the sauce. Peel and chop the garlic. Mix with mayonnaise, red pepper and tomato paste. Cut the baguette into pieces and fry in a toaster or oven. Spread with sauce. Pour bouillabaisse into plates. Serve with garlic toast.
Bouillabaisse is one of the most expensive soups in the world. In some restaurants, a portion of this first course costs 200 euros. This is explained by the cost of the ingredients included in it. The composition often includes lobsters, lobsters, and sea scorpion is served separately. The dish belongs to French cuisine, especially common in provinces located near the Mediterranean coast. Initially, it was prepared by Marseille fishermen from unsold catch, it was small sea fish and shellfish. The cost of this stew was not high. Now it is called the poor's soup for the rich and is compared to the "moon sonata." On the menus of Russian restaurants, bouillabaisse can be found under the names “Marseille ear” or “Marseille ear”. It is possible to reproduce this masterpiece in your home kitchen, although it will take some effort.
Cooking features
In different parts of France, bouillabaisse soup is made according to different recipes, differing in preparation technology and composition. However, the preparation process and recipe of this world-famous French dish have some distinctive features that must be taken into account when cooking. Otherwise, bouillabaisse will turn into an ordinary fish soup that has nothing in common with an elite dish.
- Bouillabaisse should include as many seafood as possible. Among them there should be at least one type of fish, several species of other inhabitants of the deep sea. If a soup contains less than five types of fish and seafood, then it cannot claim the title of bouillabaisse. Some restaurants make it from 40 types of fish and shellfish. For the broth, it is not necessary to take fish fillets; its spine and fins will do, so the goal is not as difficult to achieve as it might seem at first glance. It is possible to include river fish in the soup, but it is not advisable - this would be a departure from tradition.
- Bouillabaisse is a fairly thick soup, not water with small inclusions of fish. For 1 liter of water when cooking soup, you need to take about 1 kg of seafood.
- Traditionally, bouillabaisse includes tomatoes, celery stalks, onions and garlic. Other vegetables are optional, but can be added. In some parts of France, potatoes and rice are added to this soup, which makes it even more satisfying.
- Vegetables are sauteed in olive oil before adding to the soup - this is a prerequisite.
- Bouillabaisse contains many spices and spices. The classic recipe involves using a bouquet garni. This bouquet is presented with bay leaf, tarragon, basil, thyme, rosemary and parsley. Additionally, an infusion of sage is often added, for the preparation of which several sprigs of the herb are poured with a small amount of boiling water, infused for 10-20 minutes, and filtered. In some regions, crushed nuts are added to the dish to give it a unique flavor. A number of recipes call for the addition of citrus fruit zest.
- The classic bouillabaisse recipe involves adding white grape wine. Most often it is poured into vegetables and evaporated, less often added to ready-made soup. Wine can be replaced with vinegar, as they do in Brittany, or Calvados, as the inhabitants of Normandy do.
- Bouillabaisse is served with spicy rouille sauce. To prepare it, grind 4-5 cloves of garlic with a pinch of saffron and half a teaspoon of salt, the same amount of cayenne pepper, mix with the yolks of 4 raw chicken eggs and beat, adding half a liter of olive oil. To prevent the sauce from separating, the oil can be mixed with a small amount of lemon juice and added in small portions. The consistency of the sauce resembles mayonnaise, the color is red, as if rusty. Some recipes call for adding rouille sauce directly to the soup.
For bouillabaisse, you also need to prepare wheat croutons. In Marseille, it is served with stale bread prepared according to a special recipe. If you dry white bread in the oven, cover it with a thin layer of butter, and grate it with garlic, then such croutons will be an ideal addition to the famous Marseille soup.
Classic bouillabaisse recipe
- fish (preferably assorted) – 1.5 kg;
- squid – 0.2 kg;
- shrimp – 0.2 kg;
- mussels – 100 g;
- scallops – 100 g;
- onions – 0.2 kg;
- leek – 0.2 kg;
- tomatoes – 0.5 kg;
- celery stalks – 150 g;
- dry white wine – 0.2 l;
- orange – 0.2 kg;
- garlic – 5 cloves;
- bay leaf – 2 pcs.;
- black peppercorns – 5 pcs.;
- allspice peas – 5 pcs.;
- basil, thyme, saffron, rosemary - to taste;
- olive oil - how much will be needed;
- salt - to taste;
- water – 2.5 l.
Cooking method:
- Wash, clean and gut the sea fish. Fillet it.
- Fill the fish trimmings with water and put on fire. When it boils, add salt and continue to simmer for half an hour.
- Remove the zest from the orange. Wrap it in cheesecloth along with the spices.
- Peel the onions. Cut into small cubes.
- Wash the celery stalks well and chop them finely.
- Chop the leek with a knife.
- Chop the garlic as finely as possible.
- Make cross-shaped cuts on the tomatoes. Place the tomatoes in boiling water for 2 minutes. Remove with a slotted spoon and place in a container of cold water. Peel off the skin and cut out the seals in the area of the stalk. Cut the pulp into pieces and turn into puree using a blender.
- Heat olive oil in a frying pan, fry both types of onions, garlic and celery in it until soft.
- Pour in the wine and simmer for 5 minutes.
- Add the tomato mass, put a bag of zest and spices in it, simmer for another 5 minutes. Remove the seasonings but do not throw them away.
- Strain the fish broth and add the vegetable mixture to it.
- Cut the fish fillet into small pieces and place in the soup after it boils. Cook for 10-20 minutes depending on the type of fish used.
- Add seafood, after cleaning it and cutting it into small pieces. Cook for 5 minutes.
- Place the spice bag back into the soup. Keep it there for a couple of minutes. Remove the bag and remove the soup from the heat.
This is just one of the options for preparing classic bouillabaisse Marseille style. Other options include adding fennel to the bouquet of spices, boiling fish and seafood fillets not in fish broth, but in a vegetable mixture, and serving broth and other products separately.
Marseille bouillabaisse should be served with wheat croutons, a light aperitif and rouille sauce.
Bouillabaisse a la Toulon
- large sea fish – 1 kg;
- small sea fish – 1.2 kg;
- carrots – 100 g;
- potatoes – 0.3 kg;
- white onion – 50 g;
- leek – 150 g;
- fresh champignons (optional) – 100 g;
- fennel root – 1 pc.;
- celery stalk – 50 g;
- tomatoes – 0.3 kg;
- rice (optional) – 30 g;
- dry white wine – 0.2 l;
- tomato paste – 20 ml;
- lemon – 0.5 pcs.;
- fresh basil – 50 g;
- Provencal herbs, salt - to taste;
- water – 2.5 l;
- olive oil - how much will be needed.
Cooking method:
- Cut large fish into fillets, just wash small ones.
- Finely chop the fennel root, leek and white onion.
- Cut the celery stalk into small pieces.
- Pour boiling water over the tomatoes, peel and cut into large cubes.
- Cut the mushrooms into thin slices.
- Rinse the rice.
- Cut the carrots into slices.
- Fry onions (both types) and mushrooms in olive oil, add carrots, fennel and celery, fry the vegetables for a few more minutes.
- Add tomatoes.
- After simmering the vegetables for 5 minutes, add the rice.
- After a couple of minutes, pour wine into the vegetables and mushrooms, add tomato paste and spices. Add a bunch of basil. Simmer for 5 minutes, transfer to a saucepan. You can discard the basil.
- Add small fish, ridges, tails and fins of large fish to the vegetables. Fill with cold water. Cook for half an hour.
- Strain the broth, rub the vegetables and rice through a sieve, and return to the pan with the broth.
- Peel the potatoes, cut into large slices, add to the broth and boil until tender.
- Cut large fish fillets into portions, place on a baking sheet, and place lemon slices between the pieces. Pour one ladle of broth and place in an oven preheated to 180 degrees for 20 minutes.
- Place the fish on plates and pour in the broth.
Serve with wheat croutons and rouille sauce. If desired, you can add seafood to the soup. Remember that you cannot boil squid and shrimp for a long time - they will become tough like rubber.
To prepare bouillabaisse at home, you can use a frozen seafood cocktail, which will greatly simplify the preparation process.
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