Soupe de Poisson

Print this recipe ›

This is a strained Fish Soup with Pasta....from Mastering the Art of French Cooking...see Chef's Blog....

This is not something you’ll make too often, it’s a special occasion soup.  And one of my favourite things to eat in the world.

“Soup de Poisson has the same taste as bouillabaise, but the soup is strained and pasta is cooked in it to give it a light liaison.  If you are making the soup on the Mediterranean, you will come home with dozens of tiny, freshly caught fish all colours of the rainbow.  Elsewhere, use whole fish, fish heads, bones and trimmings, shellfish carcasses”....these are Julia Childs’ notes at the top of the recipe. This is the kind of dish you make when you’ve got some prawn or lobster shells, and you’re wondering what to do with them.  They give intense flavour.  In France you might use gurnard, red mullet, wrasse, bream, and even the weaver fish (this is an essential fish in Bouillabaise, but it can sting like hell!) And of course here you can get most of those fish, but more likely to get your hand on ling, haddock, hake, whiting, shellfish, pollack, grey or red mullet...basically, you can use whatever fish you can get.  I saw Rick Stein do this dish recently on the TV, and he did it exactly according to this recipe.

For 6-8 People

A Large Saucepan ¼ lb        chopped onions3 oz.       chopped leaks¼ pint   olive oil 

Cook the onions and the leeks slowly in the olive oil for 5 minutes or until almost tender but not browned, so use a low heat.

4 cloves crushed garlic      1 lb ripe tomatoes (or use a tin of tomatoes, in fact these are better as they’re usually sweeter)          3 tblsp  tomato puree 

Stir in the garlic and the tomatoes to the leeks.  Raise the heat to moderate and cook for 5 minutes more. 

3 ½ pints water            6  parsley sprigs         1 bay leaf         ½ tsp thyme        ½ tsp fennel       1 big pinche of saffron     A 2inch piece of orange peel   ⅛ tsp pepper        1 tblsp  salt             3-4 lbs   lean fish, fish heads, bones and trimmings, shellfish remains, or whatever you fancy 

Add the water, herbs, seasonings and fish to the pan and cook uncovered at a moderate boil for 30 to 40 minutes

 

2 oz spaghetti broken into 2 inch pieces                 A 5 pt saucepan 

Strain the soup into the saucepan, pressing all the juices out of the ingredients.  Correct seasoning, adding a bit more saffron if you feel it necessary.  Stir in the pasta and boil for 10 to 12 minutes or until tender.  Correct seasoning again.

Rounds of hard-toasted French bread¼ lb ParmesanRouille (see recipe) 

Pour the soup into a tureen.  Put the ruoille on the toasts.  Place 3 toasts in each bowl, sprinkle liberally with Parmesan.