Soupe de poissonsProvençal fish soup

• 1.5 kg3.3 lb small rockfish (rascasse, girelle, vive, vieille) and similar, scaled, gutted and cut in pieces; scorpion fish, small wrasse, gurnard, whiting or sea bream can substitute
• 2 onions, chopped
• 1 leek, chopped
• 1 bulb fennel, chopped, with a few fronds kept
• 3 ripe tomatoes, chopped; or 2 tbsp tomato paste
• 4 garlic cloves, crushed
• 80 ml1/3 cup olive oil
• 1 bouquet garni, bay, thyme, parsley and a strip of dried orange peel
• 1 pinch saffron threads
• 2.5 L2 1/2 qt hot water
• 2 tbsp pastis, optional
• salt and pepper, to taste
• 3 garlic cloves, for the rouille
• 1 small red chili, for the rouille, or a pinch of cayenne
• 1 egg yolk, for the rouille
• 1 slice white bread, crumb only, for the rouille
• 100 mlscant 1/2 cup olive oil, for the rouille
• 1 baguette bread for croûtons, sliced, toasted and rubbed with a garlic clove
• 100 g3.5 oz (1 cup) grated gruyère, to serve

Method

1. 1

   1. Heat the olive oil in a large pot over medium heat and soften the onions, leek and fennel for about 8 minutes, without browning.

2. 2

   2. Add the garlic and tomatoes and cook for 5 minutes, then add the fish, bouquet garni, pastis if using it, salt and pepper, and stir for 5 minutes.

3. 3

   3. Pour in the hot water, bring to a boil and simmer for 45 minutes, until the fish has fallen apart completely.

4. 4

   4. Remove the bouquet garni, then blend everything with an immersion blender, or work it through a food mill, until the bones and heads are crushed.

5. 5

   5. Pass the soup through a fine sieve (chinois), pressing hard on the solids to extract all the juices, then discard the residue.

6. 6

   6. Return the strained soup to a clean pot with the saffron and simmer for 15 minutes. Adjust the salt and pepper.

7. 7

   7. For the rouille, pound the garlic and chili in a mortar, add the bread crumb moistened with a spoonful of the hot soup and the egg yolk, then whisk in the oil in a thin stream as for mayonnaise, until thick.

8. 8

   8. Serve the soup very hot with the garlic-rubbed croûtons, the rouille and the grated cheese in separate bowls. Each diner spreads rouille on a croûton, floats it in the soup and sprinkles cheese over.