Soupe de Poisson

Made the Provencal special Soupe de Poisson (fish soup) for Christmas Eve last week. All day affair. It was made easier because I was serving Shrimp with it, so I bought shrimp with the heads on--stripped them of their shells early in morning and reserved all body parts shells etc. Put those in a pot with 2 chopped onions, 1 sliced carrot, 1 sliced celery, some left over leek tips and smashed garlic cloves. One bouquet of herbs, salt, pepper, bay leaf. Bring to boil and let simmer for at least an hour--skimming scum off as it goes. I also put in some extra crab meat (fingers) for flavor and white wine. (I imagine that if you do not have shrimp with heads on available, use clam juice [perhaps chicken stock] and make sure to find good fish with heads on them and bones for extra flavor later.)

Meanwhile, ready vegetables for soup. 3 Chopped Onions, 2 sliced carrot, 2 sliced celery, 10-15 cloves garlic (most crushed), 2 leeks, 3 ripe tomatoes or 1 can crushed tomatoes and the fish (I used 3 filet red snapper and a few pieces of speckled trout. As long as you use meaty fish (not too delicate and white) and try to use whole fish to bring out fullest flavor, you'll be fine. Sauteed onions and leeks in pan with oil for 5 minutes, then added the rest of the ingredients. Mixed a little and added the fish stock from earlier. I had to add a little more water and globs of white wine. Salt, pepper, herbs, a pinch of fennel and dash of pastis. Skim scum as it goes and cook for at least hour and half.

Meanwhile make Rouille--the rust. I used some leftover bread (about 1.5 cups), crumbled, soaked in some of fish stock. Food processor till pureed. Added 4 cloves garlic. Puree. Added egg yolk, salt, pepper, and pureed. Then let oil stream in slowly (about 1/4 cup) until right consistency. Then a few threads of saffron and cayenne for a kick. If you like it more red add paprika. It tasted great after sitting in fridge for an hour. You may have to adjust consistency, and if not liquidy enough, add some drops of fish stock.

After soup is finished and tastes flavorful, turn off heat and get strainer ready. I strained the whole soup, reserving the large pieces of fish on the side and about 2/5 the vegetables. I then added 3/4 fish and 2/5 vegetables back to the pot with broth and hand blended it until smooth. This way you have a soup with some pureed fish in it, and the vegetables adds to the flavor. Here you add dash of saffron and might want to adjust flavor--more fennel seed salt pepper etc...

Serve in shallow bowls with day old sliced bread croutons, raw garlic cloves, rouille, and gruyere. Rub crouton with garlic, add rouille, sprinkle on cheese and place in the soup bowl. Enjoy.