Today bouillabaisse soup is included in the menu of elite restaurants and is considered one of the cult dishes of French cuisine. Meanwhile, like many famous dishes, this soup has a purely folk origin: the fishermen once began to cook it from the remains of their catch. Today, many specially go to Marseille to try the famous soup, and then cook it at home on their own.
A bit of history
History has not preserved the name of the chef who first cooked bouillabaisse - this dish is truly popular. It was invented by sailors who hunted for 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 a different fish was used to prepare the dish each time, a single recipe for bouillabaisse never existed. If the trade went well, only a few fish and a handful of shrimp were 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. There was a legend that the ancient goddess Aphrodite once fed her husband Hephaestus with bouillabaisse. Tourists began to specially come to Marseille 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 its name to the soup. There is also a version that the name "bouillabaisse" comes from the French verbs "boil" and "reduce fire", that is, the technology of its preparation is encrypted in the name of the soup.
Variations
The number of obligatory ingredients of the soup includes, of course, fish of various varieties, vegetables (tomatoes, onions 
, garlic), sometimes - seafood (mussels, squid 
, shrimps). Bouillabaisse is seasoned with saffron, orange peel 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 a special cooking technology: before being put into 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, Marseille and Normandy bouillabaisse are the most famous. Their main difference is that Marseille bouillabaisse is just a rich soup made from different types fish, and potatoes are also added to the Normandy version.
It is believed that real Marseille bouillabaisse can only be made from fish that can be caught in the immediate vicinity of Marseille. In expensive restaurants located far from Marseille, the desired varieties of fish are delivered by plane. However, bouillabaisse, cooked directly in Marseille, is still considered the best, if only because the freshest fish is used for its preparation.
The use of authentic fish varieties such as dory, 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 amazing taste lies precisely in the multi-component bouillabaisse.
The art of cooking
Boiling bouillabaisse is nothing particularly difficult. 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 filtered, and the fish from which it was cooked should be discarded.
Spices are added to the finished rich broth. To do this, you will need a small clean bag of muslin or plain gauze. Coarsely chopped orange zest, black peppercorns, bay leaf are placed in the 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 are always put in bouillabaisse - a couple of onions, a few cloves of garlic and a couple of tomatoes without skins (you can use canned tomatoes). Onion and garlic should be chopped and fried in olive oil, then add mashed tomatoes there, stew a little, pour in a glass of dry white wine, and then add fish broth.
Then comes the next stage of soup cooking: large pieces of fish of different varieties are placed in a boiling broth with vegetables and boiled until tender. Five minutes before the end of cooking, put seafood in bouillabaisse. After that, you should pull out a bag of seasonings from the broth - and the soup is ready.
Serving rules
Traditionally bouillabaisse is served with croutons dipped in spicy rui sauce and white wine. Crackers perfectly set off the taste of the soup, and in combination with a spicy sauce they also give it an original taste.
Rui sauce is made from garlic, hot pepper, salt, olive oil and fresh egg yolks. The saffron adds a special flavor to this sauce. The more garlic you use, the more spicy the dish will turn out, and the tastier it will become. But it must be borne in mind that for a romantic date bouillabaisse, generously flavored garlic sauce, is unlikely to fit. You should not get acquainted with this dish and those who are allergic to garlic or just have a sick stomach.
Without the spicy dressing, bouillabaisse can be considered a light, almost dietary dish. Fish and seafood are easy to digest, 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
In world cuisine there is a great variety. Here you have a Russian ear and a Hungarian halasle. Very tasty Ukrainian fish soup. But bouillabaisse soup - recipes with photos of this culinary masterpiece, we will give here - is special. It is so tasty that even a beautiful (and somewhat naive) legend has appeared. Say, the goddess of beauty Aphrodite, in order to keep her husband Hephaestus near her, daily fed him bouillabaisse. However, the soup recipe was not born in Ancient Greece, and in French city Marseille. The word "bouillabaisse" itself comes from two French verbs - "boil" and "reduce the fire." Thus, its recipe is encrypted in the name of the soup. But in our article we will reveal in more detail various ways making bouillabaisse.
History of Bouillabaisse soup
This Marseille fish soup has no authorship. It is truly a folk dish. When the Provencal fishermen could not sell their catch in a day, they made soup from its leftovers for themselves and their families. Thus, the ingredients each time served different breeds inhabitants mediterranean sea. On another day, lobsters and shrimps even figured there, although most often - a handful of small, dead fish. But Provencal chefs knew how to cook it so deliciously that bouillabaisse gained worldwide popularity. When it became fashionable for the European aristocracy to spend the summer on the French Riviera, Marseille soup began to be served in first-class restaurants. Gradually, the classic bouillabaisse, the recipe for which we will definitely tell, has “overgrown” with national variations. All French provinces now cook this soup. And you can even taste Brazilian bouillabaisse! But we will start cooking fish soup in Marseilles.
Bouillabaisse: a classic recipe
The secret to the success of this 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 cooked by boiling, the bouillabaisse recipe suggests doing it in several stages. The fish is cooked separately to make a rich broth. And the vegetables for the soup are pre-fried and stewed. Now a bouquet of garni is added to bouillabaisse for flavor or calvados is added. But the poor Marseille fishermen did not know about such delights. They used orange peel, saffron, fennel, garlic, onions and tomatoes. Sometimes potatoes were included in bouillabaisse. But this is a Toulon variation of a popular Provencal dish. And in Brittany, it is customary to acidify fish soup with vinegar. Eat bouillabaisse hot. The Marseille fish soup was always served with lightly fried crispy baguettes and rouille garlic sauce.
Classic bouillabaisse soup: recipe with photo
Let's take a look at the ingredients first. It is better to take small fish and some kind of delicacy (salmon, shrimp, other seafood). The quantity must be substantial. Indeed, for two liters of bouillabaisse soup, you need to take a kilogram and three hundred grams of various inhabitants of the sea. Gutted a small variety of fish. We cut off the tail of the salmon, select large bones. If the shrimp are shelled, clean them. In a saucepan cold water(two liters) add bones, skin, small fish. We put the shrimp shells there. Put the pot on high heat and cover with a lid. Note that from the fish stocks we still have a salmon carcass (or other fish of elite varieties) and peeled shrimp. In bouillabaisse soup, the recipe suggests adding them later. Bouillon is cooked until tender. Based on the amount of fish, we will get it very strong, with a rich taste. After the broth is ready, it must be filtered. All solid particles can be thrown away, to the delight of cats.
Step two: compose an aromatic bouquet
The next important step in the preparation of Marseilles fish soup is the creation of 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 tucked like a knapsack and tied with a thread. It looks 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 peas of black pepper, a bay leaf, a pinch of saffron, thyme, basil in a rag or gauze. Only with such a bouquet of garni you will 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 fish spice mix. Throw this bag into a pot of hot broth so that the thread hangs down. So 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 pan 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 or six finely chopped (or passed through a press) garlic cloves 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 home-made preparations. Mash the tomatoes canned in their own juice with a spoon and send them to the cauldron. We are waiting for the tomatoes to release juice. Add a glass of white table wine. We turn off the fire under the cauldron. Pour in the strained broth and transfer the bouquet to the 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. Shrimps need to be cleaned. Squid, if present, cut into small pieces. Salmon, salmon and similar elite inhabitants of the Mediterranean Sea should be cut into large pieces (if desired, you can remove the fillet). If you want to make Toulon bouillabaisse, the recipe suggests peeling two or three large potatoes and cutting them into slices. We lay pieces of fish in the present broth. We put the potatoes in there. And put the cauldron on small fire. Cook until the potatoes are tender - about 20 minutes. Now you can add seafood to the common cauldron. Mussels, squid and shrimp require little cooking time or they will become tough. Keep them on fire for no more than five minutes. We remove the pan from the stove and remove the bouquet garni from it. That's it, the soup is ready!
croutons
French bouillabaisse soup recipe teaches not only to cook, but also to serve. An indispensable companion of Marseille fish soup is a plate of garlic croutons and rouille sauce. They eat soup. They dip the cracker into the sauce, bite off, seize with bouillabaisse. How to make croutons? We take a French baguette, remove (with a grater or knife) a crust from it. Cut into round slices. Heat three tablespoons of olive oil in a frying pan. Add 3 cloves of garlic passed through the press. Fry the croutons on both sides over low heat. Now let's spread them on one side butter and send it to the oven preheated to 190 ° C for five minutes. It is customary to serve two or three croutons to a serving of Marseille fish soup.
Sauce rui
J.K. Rowling's Harry Potter book also mentions bouillabaisse. The recipe for its preparation was known by house elves, who set the table on the occasion of the three-magic tournament. However, they served the famous Provencal dish incorrectly. The magical bouillabaisse resembled "a bowl full of a stew of shrimp, oysters, clams and crabs". “Where is Rui?” - any Marseilles would ask. This sauce resembles the popular aioli, only it's even more delicious. Let's grind one yolk in a bowl with the following ingredients (all - a pinch): salt, paprika, cayenne pepper, saffron. Without ceasing to work with a whisk, pour in half a glass of olive oil. We add it carefully, as in homemade mayonnaise, so that the sauce does not exfoliate. The mass should lighten up. You may need less oil - look at the eye. The consistency of rui should resemble mayonnaise. In restaurant cuisine, such a sauce is prepared with saffron threads, which are soaked in a spoonful of white wine, with lemon juice and
Those who have visited restaurants located in the south of France will surely remember the traditional signature dish - bouillabaisse. The classic bouillabaisse, which was brewed by Marseille fishermen several hundred years ago, is a soup based on several types of fish. The French culinary book La Cuisiniere provencale, published back in 1895, claims that up to 40 types of fish can be put in Marseille fish soup! Mackerel, sardines, pink salmon, cod, salmon, sea bass, sea bass, sea bream, smelt, pike perch, as well as other edible representatives of marine fauna are suitable for the dish.
Over the years, the classic soup recipe has undergone changes and the legendary bouillabaisse began to put vegetable dressing, seafood (mussels, squid, shrimp), orange or lemon, garlic, many seasonings, and sometimes even white wine. Thanks to the diverse combination of ingredients, was born original recipe bouillabaisse fish soup with a unique piquant taste and delicate sea aroma. Bouillabaisse has become a kind of landmark of Provence and Marseilles, because almost every guest of the country wants to taste a plate of the famous fish soup. The cost of a serving of real Marseille fish soup in Mediterranean restaurants sometimes exceeds 100 euros.
If you want to appreciate the taste of the popular bouillabaisse soup, it is not necessary to go to the Mediterranean coast of France. By following our instructions, you can easily make fish soup at home.
Recipe Information
Cuisine : French .
Cooking method: cooking .
Total cooking time: 50 min.
Servings: 6 .
Ingredients:
- fish (marine, from 2 to 7 species) - 500 g
- shrimp - 150 g
- squid - 200 g
- mussels - 100 g
- potatoes - 4 pieces
- onion - 1 pc.
- tomatoes - 4 pcs.
- olive oil - 3 tbsp. l.
- white wine - 1 glass
- garlic - 5 cloves
- chili pepper - 1/2 pc.
- bay leaf - 3 pcs.
- black pepper (and white, peas) - 4-5 pcs.
- lemon zest - 1/2 pc.
- spices for fish - 1 tbsp. l.
- oregano - 1 tsp
- dried basil - 1 tsp
- salt - to taste.
Cooking method
Any set of seafood and several types of fish, from the cheapest to the most expensive varieties, are suitable for this soup.
The fish should be cleaned, washed, cut into pieces. Wash seafood (squid, mussels, shrimps). Peel the squids, cut into 4x4 cm squares. Remove shells from prawns (royal).
The set of vegetables and spices for bouillabaisse soup also varies. But it will always be tomatoes, lemon zest, white wine, onions and garlic. With potatoes, the soup is more rich.
Chop the onion and garlic finely.
Pour olive oil into a saucepan.
We take tomatoes (fresh or frozen), remove the skin, cut into cubes and add to the onion with garlic. Saute onions, garlic and tomatoes for 5 minutes.
Peel potatoes, cut into small cubes.
Add chopped potatoes, bay leaf, lemon zest, all spices, chili pepper pieces to tomatoes, onions and garlic.
Pour three liters of water into the pan, cook for 20 minutes until the potatoes are ready.
Pour in white wine, salt, lay prepared pieces of fish and seafood.
Don't stir the soup. Just gently press everything to the bottom with a spoon so that the liquid covers the fish and seafood.
Cook then on low heat for 3-4 minutes.- Ready rich bouillabaisse now remains to be poured into plates. The soup is served with rui garlic sauce and croutons. We hope that you managed to arrange a real holiday of taste!
Note to the owner:
- In bouillabaisse, when cooking, they often put a few sprigs of celery.
- To make rui sauce, you will need: 3 egg yolks, 2 tbsp. olive oil, a pinch of ground black pepper, 4 minced garlic cloves. Mix all the ingredients thoroughly, serve the finished sauce in a gravy boat.
A very interesting dish with a unique history, originally a type of simple fisherman's soup, it has now become one of the most expensive soups served in restaurants. This is the famous bouillabaisse soup among seafood lovers. Soup has an incredible variety of recipes, only the principle of its preparation remains unchanged.
Classic Provencal soup recipe
The name of the French province is not mentioned by chance. Provence is the birthplace of bouillabaisse soup. The classic recipe for this dish has been known since late XVIII century. French fishermen, after selling their catch in the markets of the provincial capital of Marseille, cooked fish soup for dinner from leftover seafood that they could not sell. There were no industrial refrigerators then, the fish spoiled in the heat instantly. It is noteworthy that with each new cooking of the soup, the components were always different. The inhabitants of the Mediterranean Sea, which were available in a specific single catch, went into action.
Gradually, thanks to the development of transport and tourism, local institutions Catering began to offer tourists more and more refined versions of bouillabaisse, increasing its cost by adding expensive species of marine life. Since the name of the dish in Russian is pronounced and written according to the rules for writing foreign borrowed words, sometimes there are typos such as "boyanez", "buyabes", "buyabes classic recipe". In the menu of restaurants in the regions of the world, it can be found under the names French, Marseille, Provencal. So, classic Marseille soup recipe:
First of all, large bones must be separated from pieces of fish, tails and fins should be cut off, if there are heads, then gills should be removed. Good quality pieces are set aside for a while. Scraps are poured with cold water, salted and boiled over high heat until boiling, then the fire must be reduced to a minimum. They will provide the necessary saturation and fat content for the future soup. After cooking, they need to be thrown out, and the resulting broth should be filtered.
Previously set aside pieces are placed in the finished strained broth. Now the fish is cooked on low heat and spices are placed in the pan. There is one peculiarity here. Dried greens, saffron, bay leaves and orange peels must first be placed in gauze or any clean cloth and sewn up, after making a rope on the resulting bag, for which it will be pulled out of the pan. Thus, the broth will be rich in flavors of Mediterranean ingredients, but at the same time remain transparent. Remove the cooked fish from the pan, discard the bag. It is important to note - the fish needs to be slightly undercooked. Then comes the vegetables.
Onions and garlic are cut into small pieces and fried in a deep frying pan. The skin is removed from the tomatoes. This can be easily done by scalding them with boiling water and then dousing them with cold water. Tomatoes and all remaining vegetables are cut and added to the garlic and onions. A glass of alcoholic drink is also poured there.
Using the cooking tools available in the kitchen for making mashed potatoes, knead the entire contents of the pan until smooth. 15 minutes after boiling, pour the resulting mass into the fish broth, add fish to it and cook for another 10 minutes. To fully comply with culinary traditions, you can replace ordinary rock salt with sea salt.
Marseille soup is served hot only. The fish is laid out on a separate plate. The soup is additionally served with stale White bread and rui sauce. Special hot sauce based on garlic and cayenne pepper. Its purpose is to drown out the smell and taste of fish.
Bouillabaisse soup has another national variation, which was also born on the Mediterranean coast, only in Spain.
Spanish version of the dish
Almost identical to the French fisherman's fish soup, the Spanish fish soup with seafood. The cooking technology and related components are absolutely identical, with the exception of the very foundation, that is, seafood. Instead of several types of fish, Spanish chefs took only one, and added shrimp, shellfish, octopus, cuttlefish and mussels to it.
In Spanish soup, the broth is made from the head of one large fish. Seafood is added to the finished broth at the same time as the pasta from vegetables and cook until tender. A seafood cocktail is served on the table separately from the liquid fraction of the dish. After the popularity of bouillabaisse spread beyond the Mediterranean countries, the classic recipe began to acquire new original additions, depending on the characteristics of a particular region of the world.
Bouillabaisse in Norwegian
The cuisine of Norway is rich in various seafood dishes, however, French fish soup based on the Spanish version has also become popular there, confirming the theory of growing globalization.
The Norwegian recipe is different in that instead of a fish head, the basis is made up of Atlantic lobsters. Despite their small size compared to other types of lobsters, such as North American lobsters, they are valued all over the world for their excellent taste. Before cooking, lobsters are cleaned of chitinous cover and entrails. And their ratio in comparison with other seafood should be at least 80%. Such a dish is certainly very tasty, but fish soup is still a classic of the genre. There is an original simplified bouillabaisse recipe with a minimal set of Mediterranean exotics.
Russian fish soup
You can cook a delicious fish soup of French fishermen, deviating a little from the traditional recipe. Instead of the Mediterranean ones, buy any marine species of fish, and reduce their number to two. For example, take sea bass and cod. To give a special marine flavor, use shrimp. You get a delicious interesting dish, you can call it Russian bouillabaisse. The recipe for this is:
Prepare according to the example of the classic Provencal fish soup. Shrimps are placed in the broth at the same time as the vegetable mass. Served with pieces of fish on a separate dish. Any spicy store-bought sauce is served with the soup.
Traveling around the world, a popular dish undergoes many changes, up to complete unrecognizability. So, for example, a variant of bouillabaisse salad appeared.
Metamorphoses with national cuisine
In modern cookbooks, in addition to fish soup, there is an original salad recipe based on it, this is what fish soup can transform into. The classic recipe has changed beyond recognition. Such a salad is prepared quickly, the number of components is reduced, and boiled fish is replaced with smoked:
Mackerel is cleaned of skin, head, entrails and bones are removed. Shrimps are boiled in salted water for 5-7 minutes. Cleared from the shell. Next, shrimps and fish are cut into small pieces. Tomatoes and cheese are cut into cubes. Nuts can be crushed in a coffee grinder. Greens also crumble into small pieces.
According to the most conservative estimates, there are about 840 prescription variations of bouillabaisse soup and its derivatives in world culinary. So, if any exotic ingredients are missing, you can safely experiment with the products at hand. Culinary good luck and bon appetit!
Attention, only TODAY!
Peel and chop onion and garlic. Wash thyme, pat dry and cut into leaves. Wash the tomatoes, make a cross-shaped incision on top. Scald with boiling water and remove the skin from them. Cut fruit into small cubes.
Heat up in a saucepan 2 tbsp. l. olive oil. Add onion and garlic and saute 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, remove gills. Wash thoroughly and add to the pot. Cook over low heat for 1 hour without stirring.
Strain the soup through a sieve into a clean saucepan.
Defrost mussels and shrimps in advance by placing them in a bowl of cold water. * If shrimp are in shell, they must be cleaned. Wash the fish fillet and cut into pieces. Add the mussels, shrimps and fish to the soup pot and cook for 20 minutes.
Make sauce. Peel and mince the garlic. Mix with mayonnaise, red pepper and tomato paste. Cut the baguette into pieces and fry in a toaster or oven. Brush with sauce. Pour the bouillabaisse into bowls. Serve with garlic toast.
