Bouillabaisse with rouille, croûtons and Gruyère – Saturday KitchenSaturday Kitchen

A blend of fish and seafood accompanied by a rouille infused with red pepper and chili, then garnished with crispy croûtons and cheese on top.

Preparation time
less than 30 mins

Cooking time
1 to 2 hours

Serves
Serves 4

By Matt Tebbutt
From Saturday Kitchen

Ingredients

For the base

2 tbsp olive oil, for frying
1 onion, chopped
1 head garlic, broken into cloves and smashed
1 star anise
1 carrot, peeled and chopped
½ fennel bulb, sliced
3 celery sticks, chopped
2 bay leaves
small bunch fresh thyme, roughly chopped
1kg/2lb 4oz mixed sea fish (on the bone if possible or fillets, crab claws or shells, or prawns in shell)
2 tbsp tomato purée
pinch saffron
125ml/4fl oz French dry vermouth
400g tin plum tomatoes
bunch fresh tarragon, roughly chopped
salt and freshly ground black pepper

For the fish

300g/10½oz mussels in shell, scrubbed and debearded
50ml/2fl oz white wine or French dry vermouth
1 bay leaf
1 garlic clove, smashed
2 tbsp olive oil, for frying
1kg/2lb 4oz mixed fish fillets, cut into chunks

For the rouille

4 garlic cloves, finely chopped
1 red chilli, finely chopped
2 tsp hot smoked paprika
1 roasted and peeled red pepper from a jar, finely chopped
pinch saffron
2 free-range egg yolks
1 tsp Dijon mustard
150ml/5fl oz olive oil
150ml/5fl oz vegetable oil
splash white wine vinegar
1 lemon, juice only
pinch salt

For the croûtons

50ml/2fl oz light olive oil
1 garlic clove, smashed
1 small (preferably day-old) French stick, torn into croûtons
1 tbsp chopped fresh thyme
10g/½oz butter
50g/1¾oz Gruyère cheese, grated, to serve

Method

To make the base, heat the oil in large saucepan and sweat the onion, garlic, star anise, carrot, fennel, celery, bay leaves and thyme for 15–20 minutes until soft and starting to colour. Add the fish, shells and bones to the pan and continue to cook for another 10 minutes or so. Add the tomato purée, saffron, vermouth and tomatoes. Cook to a paste then barely cover with water and simmer very gently for 30 minutes.
After this time, blitz briefly with a hand blender. Drain in a colander and push through as much liquid as possible. Discard the bones and shells, transfer the base back to a saucepan and add the tarragon. Boil until reduced to around half the volume, skimming off any fat as it cooks. Taste and season with salt and pepper.
To make the fish, place a dry saucepan over a high heat. Discard any mussels with broken shells and any that refuse to close when tapped. Add the mussels, wine, bay leaf and garlic, immediately cover with the lid and shake the pan from time to time. After 2–3 minutes, check all the mussels have opened. Discard any mussels that remain closed and remove from the heat. Tip into a sieve or colander, collecting any cooking liquor in a bowl underneath.
Leave to cool slightly before picking the meat from the shells and set aside. Strain the cooking liquor through a fine mesh sieve or chinois and tip into the reduced base. Heat the oil in a frying pan and fry the fish on one side (depending on the thickness) until cooked through. Keep warm with the mussels.
To make the rouille, grind some salt with the garlic, chilli, smoked paprika, red pepper and saffron with a pestle and mortar to make a paste. Set aside. Put the egg yolks and mustard in a bowl and slowly whisk in the oils by hand until incorporated and thick. Add the red pepper paste, vinegar and lemon juice and season with salt. Set aside.
To make the croûtons, warm the olive oil in a frying pan with the smashed garlic clove to infuse. Add the croûtons and toast on both sides until golden brown. Add the thyme and butter to the pan and baste. Transfer to kitchen paper to drain. Keep warm.
To serve, put the cooked fish and mussels in the bottom of a large serving bowl. Ladle the fish base over the top and serve the rouille and Gruyère in small serving dishes alongside. Serve the croûtons on a separate side plate.