Bouillabaisse With Rouille Topped Croutons

Manami's Note:

A great Sunday meal, in front of the fire or the TV! Rouille is the classic accompaniment to Bouillabaisse :), this spicy, creamy puree is a delicious dip for fresh bread as well as a topping for the croutons; a luscious way to use up stale bread! We made this at Adelaida's house and they were all watching one of the soccer games. These tasty morsels dress up even the simplest soups & they are very good! We use red snapper in this dish, but cod, haddock, halibut, or other fresh white fillets will work & the Rouille (roo-EE) is traditionally spicy. This is a combination of a couple recipes. Hope you enjoy! ;)

• Total Time: 45 mins
• Prep Time: 20 mins
• Cook Time: 25 mins

Ingredients:

Servings: 8

BOUILLABAISSE

• 1/2 cup olive oil
• 2 medium onions, finely chopped
• 1 leek, finely chopped
• 1 stalk celery, chopped
• 2 -3 bay leaves
• 4 large garlic cloves, minced
• 2 tablespoons tomato paste
• 1 -2 teaspoon chili paste, to taste or 1 large red chili pepper, finely chopped
• 2 cups dry white wine
• 1/8 teaspoon saffron thread
• 1 teaspoon honey
• 1 3/4 lbs tomatoes with juice, chopped or 1 1/8 lbs fresh tomatoes, peeled and chopped
• 12 cups fish stock (use commercial fish stock or use any number of recipes in zaar)
• salt, to taste
• fresh ground black pepper, to taste
• 2 1/4 lbs various boneless firm fish fillets, cut in 1 . 5-inch pieces
• 1 1/8-1 1/2 lbs fresh mussels, scrubbed
• 3 cups croutons, to serve (Rouille, to serve)
• 8 -16 large raw prawns

ROUILLE

• 1 large boiled potato
• 6 garlic cloves, peeled and minced
• 1 -2 teaspoon minced chile
• 1 egg yolk
• 1/4 teaspoon paprika
• 1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil
• salt, to taste

CROUTONS

• 6 slices sourdough baguettes (4 ounces)
• 1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil
• 1 teaspoon crushed garlic
• 2 tablespoons grated parmesan cheese
• 1 teaspoon dried oregano
• 1/2 teaspoon salt

Directions:

1. PREPARE BOUILLABAISSE:.
2. Heat oil in a large pot and gently cook onions until clear, 10-15 minutes.
3. Add leek and celery and cook a further 10 minutes.
4. Add bay leaves, garlic, tomato paste and chilli paste.
5. Sizzle a few seconds.
6. Mix in wine, saffron, honey and tomatoes.
7. Cook over low heat, 20 minutes.
8. Add fish stock and season to taste.
9. Bring back to a simmer and add mussels (or steam separately then add them to the soup with their juices); discard any mussels that don’t open.
10. Add fish fillets and simmer gently until just cooked, 2-3 minutes.
11. Divide between hot soup bowls and top with a crouton spread with rouille.
12. Pass extra rouille and croutons around separately.
13. ROUILLE:.
14. Puree all the ingredients, adding salt to taste.
15. Stored in the fridge, rouille will keep for 2-3 days.
16. CROUTONS:.
17. Preheat oven to 300ºF.
18. Remove the crusts from 6 thick slices of sourdough bread baguette.
19. Mix together olive oil, garlic, parmesan, oregano and salt; brush over the bread on both sides.
20. Dice the bread into 3/4" pieces and spread out on a baking tray.
21. Bake until golden and crisp, about 25 minutes; these can cook while cooking the soup on top of stove.
22. **Store croutons in an airtight containe; they will keep fresh for several weeks and if they become stale simply heat in a 350ºF oven to refresh 5 to 10 minutes.

Reviews

[EmmaRebekah]

Delicious and relative easy to make! Takes a lot of prep, not exactly the recipe to choose if you've only got an hour.