Fish soup appears in every city, town and village that grows up by the sea. It is a natural outgrowth of thrift. Fishermen’s wives regularly nourished their families with whatever portion of the catch that went outsold at the end of the day, stretching it with available ingredients. Cooks knew instinctively about the transformation that takes place when fish simmers in liquid, whether water, stock, tomatoes or milk.
In the United States, San Francisco, New Orleans and New England gave birth to classic fish soups. Visitors to the California city make it a point to taste cioppino, a beautiful balance of fish and vegetables simmered in tomatoes. Big Easy cooks combine spicy sausage and gulf shrimp into gumbo. And creamy, white — never pink or red — chowder is a point of pride from Maine to Cape Cod. Each soup changes slightly from kitchen to kitchen, like the lyrics of folk songs alter slightly with each singer.
Europe’s most popular fish soup, bouillabaisse, from the port of Marseilles, France, is no different. Incorporating local seafood, individual preparation can be as contentious a topic as the battle between New England and New York chowders. Every fishing family along the Provence coastline maintains that their bouillabaisse recipe is the best. And restaurants offer their own, more extravagantly concocted, recipes.
Translating bouillabaisse into the American kitchen is a bit less controversial. Not bound by tradition, a next-door neighbor’s reputation or the availability of fresh Mediterranean fish, like racasse, we’re free to create our own versions with merely a nod and a wink to the original.
Bouillabaisse can fit any budget. Beginning with a base of leeks, onions and celery gently sautéed in olive oil, a splash of white wine and canned tomatoes, add some stock. No homemade fish stock on hand? Use canned, boxed or cubes. Vegetable stock will do as well. Then add fish according to the wallet.
“Chowder fish,” a combination of trimmings from filleting white fish, is often available at fish markets. A couple of pounds of this economical mix turns out a hearty, inexpensive soup. At the opposite end of the scale, the cook is free to incorporate lobster or shrimp.
To add authentic European panache, substitute licorice-flavored fennel for celery in the base and add some orange zest to the simmering liquid. And use flavorful flat, never curly, parsley.
Serve the soup over rounds of crusty bread (they use stale bread in France) spread with a bit of homemade garlic mayonnaise. When time doesn’t allow homemade, whirl best quality prepared mayonnaise in the blender with a few drops of lemon juice and a clove of garlic, to taste. Works perfectly.
EUROPEAN FISHERMEN’S SOUP
Bouillabaisse
Serves 6
This recipe is based on the French bouillabaisse, taking into account the family budget and locally available ingredients, such as white-fleshed fish. One pound of shrimp or lobster meat may be substituted for one pound of the white fish.
Remember to wash the orange (20 seconds under running water) before zesting.
1/4 to 1/2 cup olive oil, as needed to cover bottom of pot
2 leeks, coarsely chopped
1 medium onion, chopped
2 ribs chopped celery or fresh fennel (optional)
2 teaspoons dried thyme
1 (28-to-32-ounce) can peeled tomatoes
1/2 cup chopped flat parsley
2 bay leaves
2 cups white wine
4 cups fish stock
Zest of one large orange
salt and pepper, to taste
2 tablespoons butter
2 tablespoons flour
3 pounds skinless white finfish (cod, snapper, hake, chowder fish etc.)
1. Warm the olive oil in the bottom of a heavy stockpot on medium heat. Add the leeks, onions, celery or fennel (if using), and dried thyme. Cook, partially covered, lifting the cover to stir from time to time, for 7 to 10 minutes. Spoon out some of the mixture and bite into it to test: Vegetables should be tender without any crunch.
2. Add tomatoes, thyme, parsley, bay leaves, wine, stock and orange peel to the pot. Taste for seasoning; add salt and pepper, to taste. Simmer the mixture, about 20 minutes.
3. In a separate small saucepan, melt the butter. Add the flour, and cook over medium-low heat until the mixture is lightly golden, stirring constantly so that it does not burn (if black flecks appear, the flour is burned). Cooking the flour prevents a pasty flavor in the finished dish.
4. Spoon about 1/4 cup of the tomato mixture into the flour mixture. It will immediately thicken. A tablespoon at a time, stir this into the larger pot, holding the tomato mixture until it thickens just slightly. Be careful not to over-thicken.
5. Add the fish, gently simmering until it is flaky, about 5 to 7 minutes. Add the remainder of the parsley and stir once more. Keep warm for 5 to 10 minutes to blend flavors before serving.
HOMEMADE GARLIC MAYONNAISE
Aioli
Makes about 2 cups
8 to 10 garlic cloves, peeled
2 egg yolks, at room temperature
salt, pepper
juice of 1 lemon
1 teaspoon Dijon-style mustard
1 1/2 cups olive oil
1. Turn on the food processor: with the motor running, add the garlic through the feed tube. Turn off the machine.
2. Add the eggs, salt, pepper, lemon juice, and mustard to the work bowl. Pulse the machine with an on/off motion until a smooth paste forms. Remove the cover and scrape down the sides.
3. Once again, turn on the motor. Very slowly through the feed tube, add the olive oil, at first a drop or two at a time to incorporate. Then very slowly pour the remainder in a steady stream until it coagulates into a sauce. Refrigerate until ready to use.
Linda Bassett, author of “From Apple Pie to Pad Thai,” teaches American regional cooking and international cuisine at Massachusetts' North Shore Community College. Reach her by e-mail at KitchenCall@aol.com.
