Bouillabaisse with Garlic Croutons and Rouille Recipe by Chef Paul Hynes from La Cote Restaurant. A traditional Provençal fish stew originating from the port city of Marseille. Here Chef Paul has star anise and saffron in his recipe, adding incredible depth of aromatic spices and flavour. A classic star dish, for a dinner party or a romantic night for two.
Ingredients:
Serves 4
– Olive oil, for cooking
– 1kg turbot or brill bones
– Salt and pepper
– 500g mixed celery, carrot, onion and leeks
– chopped 1 bulb of garlic, cloves peeled (reserve one for the fish)
– 2 Tbsp tomato purée
– 100ml white wine
– 50ml Pernod
– 5 star anise
– pinch of saffron
– 2 x 400g tins of whole plum tomatoes
– 150g plaice, cut into 6cm pieces
– 50g sea trout, cut into 4cm pieces
– roasted vine-ripened cherry tomatoes, to serve
For the garlic croutons
– 1 baguette, thinly sliced
– 1 garlic clove, cut in half
For the rouille
– 3 potatoes, peeled
– 3 eggs
– 3 egg yolks
– juice of 2 lemons
– 8 anchovies
– 2 garlic cloves, peeled
– 1 tbsp tomato purée
– 300ml olive oil
Method:
1. Preheat the oven to 180°C.
2. Heat some oil in a large frying pan over a medium to high heat. Place the fish bones in the pan with some salt and pepper and fry for 10 minutes, then transfer the bones to a baking tray and roast them in the oven for 30 minutes.
3. Meanwhile, place the mirepoix vegetables and garlic in a large saucepan and sweat them down, then stir in the tomato purée and let it cook for another five minutes. Add the white wine, Pernod, star anise and saffron and simmer until the alcohol has cooked off.
4. Add the roasted fish bones to the veg along with the tinned tomatoes and cover with water.
5. Add a little salt and pepper to season. Bring to the boil, then reduce the heat and simmer for one hour, until the bones are soft to the touch.
6. Remove from the heat and transfer to a blender, then whizz until smooth. Pour through a fine mesh sieve for a completely smooth sauce, then set aside.
To make the garlic croutons
1. Rub the baguette slices with the cut garlic clove, then lightly toast and set aside.
To make the rouille
1. Boil the potatoes with a pinch of saffron until they are cooked through.
2. Hard-boil three of the eggs, then scoop out their yolks (discard the whites).
3. Place the cooked potatoes and hard-boiled egg yolks in a blender with the raw egg yolks, lemon juice, anchovies, garlic and tomato purée and whizz to combine. Slowly add the olive oil and continue to blend to a mayonnaise consistency.
To prepare the fish
1. Raise the oven temperature to 200°C. Cut out a piece of parchment paper roughly 13 cm wide and 20 cm long.
2. Rub the paper with the remaining halved garlic clove, then put the plaice in the middle of the paper. Put the sea trout on top of the plaice and roll them up together. Cook in the oven for four to five minutes.
3. To serve, reheat the bouillabaisse and ladle into four bowls along with a few roasted cherry tomatoes.
4. Remove the fish from the oven and cut into slices, then place on top of the bouillabaisse. Garnish with dollops of rouille and a garlic crouton to complete the dish.
At La Côte Seafood Restaurant, Michelin-trained chef Paul Hynes serves traditional French and Irish dishes with a modern twist that will awaken your senses with innovative flavours and textures, and beautifully plated dishes.
Paul’s approach to food is driven by the belief that the quality and provenance of the raw elements of each dish are instrumental in producing a fine plate of food. This has helped to secure our position as one of the best seafood restaurants in Ireland.
La Cote has won many awards including Best Restaurant and Best Chef at the Irish Restaurant Awards.