Classic Bouillabaise with Rouille and Garlic Croutons
Bouillabaisse is one of those dishes that sounds elaborate but is actually very doable once you break it down. This traditional Provençal fish stew is all about a rich, aromatic broth, beautiful seafood, and simple garnishes like croutons and rouille to tie it all together.
For this version, I used homemade shrimp stock, which adds amazing depth and umami. The base is a mix of slow-simmered vegetables, garlic, and herbs. After about 45 minutes of gentle bubbling, you simply add the fish and seafood of your choice. I used cod, prawns, and crayfish, but mussels, clams, red mullet, or even squid would work wonderfully too.
The rouille—a saffron and roasted red pepper mayonnaise—is a must. Serve it on crisp croutons or stir it straight into the broth for extra richness. Don’t be intimidated; once you have a flavourful stock and a bit of patience, this dish comes together beautifully and makes an impressive centrepiece.
Why You’ll Love This Bouillabaisse
- Packed with deep seafood flavour from homemade shrimp stock
- Customisable with your favourite fish and shellfish
- Rouille adds richness, spice, and colour
- Perfect for a dinner party or slow Sunday meal
- Classic French recipe with simple, fresh ingredients
FAQ
Can I use store-bought stock?
Yes, you can use good-quality fish or seafood stock, but homemade shrimp stock adds a more intense flavour. If you’ve got shells or fish bones in the freezer, now’s the time to use them!
What kind of fish works best in Bouillabaisse?
Firm white fish like cod, monkfish, or hake are perfect. You can also use prawns, mussels, clams, crayfish, squid, or even scallops.
What is rouille made of?
Rouille is a Provençal garlic and saffron mayonnaise made with roasted red peppers, garlic, egg yolk, olive oil, and lemon juice. It’s served as a topping on the croutons or stirred directly into the soup.
Is this recipe difficult to make?
Not at all. It just takes time for the broth to develop its flavour. The rest is simply adding seafood and blending the rouille.
What can I serve with Bouillabaisse?
Serve it with crusty baguette or toasted croutons topped with rouille. A crisp green salad with vinaigrette on the side works well too.
Classic Bouillabaise with Rouille and Garlic Croutons
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Loading...Ingredients
- Soup
- 2l fish stock, store bought or homemade
- 2 white onions, chopped into thin rings
- 3-4 garlic cloves, crushed and roughly sliced
- 1 fennel bulb, thinly sliced (hard center removed and fronds set apart)
- 1 leek, thinly sliced, the white & light green part (tip: save the dark green part in the freezer for later use in a stock)
- 4 tomatoes, crown removed and cubed
- 1 sprig fresh thyme
- 2-3 bay leaves
- 2 pinches of saffron, soaked in a splash of warm water
- 1 small can tomato puree (80 g)
- 1 tbsp flour
- 1 splash of pastis (optional, but oh so good!)
- Drizzle olive oil
- Grated parmesan
- Seafood
- 500 g mixed firm white fish (like cod, gurnard, monkfish), chopped into large bite size chunks
- 8 large gamba's (defrosted if frozen)
- Rouille
- 1 tbsp hot water
- 1 tbsp white wine vinegar
- Pinch of saffron
- 2 to 3 slices of white bread (with the crust removed)
- 3 to 4 cloves of garlic (crushed)
- 2 egg yolks
- 1/4 teaspoon chili powder
- 1/2 cup olive oil
- Salt (to taste)
- Garlic croutons
- 1 Baguette
- Olive oil
- 1-2 garlic cloves, peeled
Instructions
Soup
Start by heating up the stock and clean and slice all the veggies as mentioned above.
Place a heavy based soup pan on a medium heat and add a drizzle of olive oil.
Sauté the onion rings and the garlic until fragrant and translucent, ± 2 min, keep stirring.
Add the sliced fennel and sauté for 3-4 minutes until starting to soften.
Add the leek and sauté for 1-2 minutes until starting to soften.
Add the soaked saffron, this will give a lovely refined flavour and a deep yellow colour.
Add the tomatoes and stir everything together.
Add the tomato purée, stir through and let it all sauté for another 3-4 minutes. This will take away the acidity of the tomatoes. Make sure it doesn't burn, as burned tomatoes will add a bitter taste.
Now sprinkle the flour over the stewing vegetables and stir through so the flour coats all the ingredients, let it cook for a minute, be careful not to burn it.
Now is the time to deglaze the pan with the pastis if you're using it (if not you can jump straight to the next point). Let it stew for a ±2 minutes on high heat so all the alcohol evaporates, while stirring the pot and scraping all the goodness from the bottom of the pan.
Add the fish stock (remember to scrape all the goodness from the bottom of the pan, if you haven't already done it in the previous point).
Add a few sprigs of thyme and the bay leaves.
Let everything stew and bubble on low heat for 45 minutes.
Taste and season with extra salt and pepper if needed.
5 minutes before serving add the prawns and fish and let it simmer for 5 minutes on low heat until just done.
Rouille
Heat the hot water, vinegar, and saffron until you have a very yellow liquid.
In a large bowl add the white bread pieces and pour over the saffron mixture, mix well.
Place the bread mixture into a food processor and add the garlic, egg yolks, and chili powder.
Mix it for about 30 seconds, scraping down the sides so everything mixes well/
Keep blending while slowly drizzling in the olive oil. The sauce will thicken into a glossy mayonnaise consistency.
Taste and season and then refrigerate until using.
Garlic croutons
About 15 minutes before serving preheat the oven to 200°C.
Slice the baguette into 1 cm thick slices and place on a baking sheet. Drizzle them all with olive oil and season with pepper and salt.
Bake for ± 6-8 minutes, or until starting to turn a lovely golden colour.
If you're not a huge van of garlic, you can serve them like this, maybe with an extra drizzle of olive oil over the top. But if you're a huge garlic fan like me then don't forget the following step.
While the croutons are still hot, take a whole garlic clove and rub it over the hot bread, the garlic will pretty much melt and scrape away. It doesn't look like much but I promise you this is enough 😉
2 Comments
Anonymous
28 April 2025 at 15:51
You never include the cooking of the seafood.
Saffron
28 April 2025 at 19:18
Oh no! Thank you so much for pointing it out, I just adjusted it.