Bouillabaisse

• 6 u Prawns (large prawns, or langoustines)
  Swaps (1)
• 500 g Mussels (cleaned)
• 220 ml Olive oil (70 ml for the stew and 150 ml for the rouille)
• 4 u Tomato (ripe, peeled and chopped)
  Swaps (1)
• 1 u Onion
• 6 cloves Garlic (4 for the broth, 1 for the rouille and 1 to rub on the bread)
• 4 u Potato (medium, waxy)
  Swaps (1)
• Salt (to taste)
• Black pepper (to taste)
• 1 u Egg Yolks (very fresh, for the rouille)
• 2 sprigs Thyme
• 2 leaves Bay Leaf
• 1 handful Parsley (chopped)
• 2 pinches Saffron (threads: one for the fish and broth, one for the rouille)
  Swaps (1)
• 1 pinch Cayenne Pepper (for the rouille)
• 1 u Fennel (the bulb, with its fronds)
• 1 kg White Fish (firm rockfish, cleaned and in large pieces: scorpion fish, John Dory, gurnard or conger eel)
• 2 u Leek (white part only)
• 1.5 l Fish Stock (homemade, hot)
  Swaps (1)
• 1 u Baguette (ideally a day old)
• 600 g Monkfish (in thick steaks on the bone)
• 1 u Orange peel (one strip, without the white pith)
• 2 tablespoons Anise liqueur (pastis) (optional)

Instructions

1. 1

   Divide the fish into two groups: the firmer, thicker pieces (monkfish, conger) and the more delicate ones. Salt lightly, sprinkle with a few saffron threads, drizzle with a little of the oil and keep in the fridge while you make the base.

   15 min

2. 2

   Thinly slice the onion, leeks and fennel. Heat the rest of the stew oil in a wide pot and sweat the vegetables over medium heat until soft but not coloured.

   10 min

3. 3

   Add 4 crushed garlic cloves, the tomatoes, orange peel, thyme, bay leaves and the rest of the first pinch of saffron. Cook until the tomatoes break down.

   8 min

4. 4

   Pour in the hot stock and add the potatoes, peeled and cut into 1.5 cm slices. Bring to a rolling boil and keep it there until the potatoes are almost tender.

   15 min

5. 5

   Meanwhile, make the rouille: crush a garlic clove in a mortar with a pinch of salt and the second pinch of saffron. Add a slice of cooked potato from the pot and the egg yolk, then trickle in the oil in a thin stream, stirring constantly, until the sauce is as thick as mayonnaise. Season with the cayenne and keep it in the fridge.

   10 min

6. 6

   Slice the baguette, toast the slices in the oven at 200 °C until golden and rub them with the last garlic clove.

   8 min

7. 7

   Add the firm fish to the boiling broth and, after 4 minutes, the delicate fish, mussels, prawns and pastis. Keep it at a rolling boil without stirring with a spoon so the fish does not break up (shake the pot by its handles instead) until the fish is opaque and the mussels have opened.

   9 min

8. 8

   Taste and adjust the salt and pepper. Carefully lift the fish, shellfish and potatoes onto a platter and sprinkle with parsley; discard any mussels that remain closed. Serve the broth first in deep plates with the croutons spread with rouille, then bring the fish to the table with a little more broth.