Soups & Stews Huseyin Ozdemir Soups & Stews Huseyin Ozdemir

Bouillabaisse – Classic French Fish Stew

Bring the taste of Provence to your kitchen with this traditional French Bouillabaisse. A rich, aromatic seafood stew made with mussels, cod, sea bass, and crayfish in a saffron-infused tomato broth — perfect for impressing at dinner or warming up on a cold night.

Bouillabaisse is a traditional Provençal fish stew from Marseille, originally made by fishermen using unsellable rockfish. Today, it’s a luxurious, flavour-packed dish featuring a variety of sustainable seafood—perfect for special occasions or weekend feasts.

Traditional French Bouillabaisse seafood stew served in bowls with mussels, white fish, and crayfish in a rich tomato broth, garnished with fresh herbs.

Prep Time: Under 30 mins
Cook Time: 10–30 mins
Serves: 6
Dietary: Egg-free, Nut-free

Ingredients

For the stew:

  • 750ml fish stock

  • 1kg mussels, scrubbed and de-bearded

  • 350g cod, skinned and cut into 15mm slices

  • 2 sea bass fillets, skinned and cut into 5 slices

  • 200g cooked crayfish tails

  • 2 tbsp olive oil

  • 2 onions, finely chopped

  • 1 small fennel, finely chopped

  • 2 garlic cloves, crushed

  • 1 heaped tbsp tomato purée

  • 100ml dry white wine

  • 6 large tomatoes, skinned and chopped

  • Pinch saffron

  • Small bunch basil (stalks and leaves separated), leaves shredded

  • 1 small orange (zest and juice)

  • Salt and black pepper

For the rouille (garlic saffron mayo):

  • Pinch saffron

  • ½ small lemon, juice only

  • 6 tbsp full-fat mayonnaise

  • 1 large garlic clove, crushed

Method

  1. Heat olive oil in a large pan. Add onion and fennel; cook for 5 mins. Add garlic and tomato purée; stir for 30 secs. Add wine, stock, tomatoes, saffron, basil stalks, and orange zest. Simmer for 10 mins.

  2. Add mussels and cook covered for 4 mins until they open. Discard unopened mussels. Remove 18 mussels in shell for garnish; de-shell the rest.

  3. Blend the soup until smooth. Simmer for 10 mins to reduce to 1.2 litres.

  4. Add cod and sea bass. Cook 3–4 mins. Add crayfish and reserved mussels. Simmer 2–3 mins more.

  5. For the rouille: soak saffron in lemon juice, then mix with mayonnaise and garlic. Season to taste.

  6. Serve bouillabaisse in bowls with basil and a spoonful of rouille.

Perfect With: Crusty bread and a glass of chilled white wine.

(This recipe is adapted from BBC Good Food.)

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