Bouillabaisse

Ingredients

• different kinds of fish in any (almost) combination - 2 kg.,
• 2 medium onions,
• 4-5 tomatoes,
• 1-2 cloves of garlic,
• olive oil 30-50 gr.,
• bay leafs and
• spicy herbs (seasoning Herbes de Provence, for example),
• dill and parsley (fresh the better);
• leeks (white parts) + shallots + sweet red pepper + celery come in useful;
• salt and black pepper.
• Optionally: 3-4 medium potatoes,
• up to 200 gr. of white wine, up to 100 gr. lemon juice, some orange peel.

Cooking Instructions

1. Preparing fish
2. Divide out small fish and those you consider less valued - for broth; more valued fish - for bouillabaisse.
3. Clean the fish (it will do to remove only the gills and innards from those, which for broth) and cut into pieces (of 2 inches, which for bouillabaisse; of lesser size, which for broth).
4. Put the valued fish into wide saucepan and sprinkle slightly with lemon juice.
5. Cooking the broth
6. Put into another wide saucepan sliced onions, tomatos, garlic and, if you have it near at hand, shallots, white part of leeks, sweet red pepper, celery.
7. Start to stew vegetables on weak fire, shortly after add the fish.
8. Stir occasionally, of course.
9. When stew is lightly brown (or the onion in it) pure hot water (about 2 litres) into the saucepan and put dry spicy herbs according to your taste (originally in France "Herbes de Provence" seasoning was applying).
10. Add pepper and salt.
11. Sometimes orange peel may be used.
12. Boil for about 15 minutes on strong fire.
13. Cooking the bouillabaisse
14. When the fish in the broth is sodden enough, pour contents of the saucepan with the broth through a sieve into the saucepan with the valued fish (forcing it through the sieve).
15. Pour into that saucepan olive oil.
16. Try the broth, whether you have to impart or deepen the relish of saffron and fennel (in case, that you like its taste) in the soup.
17. Add some water, if necessary.
18. The body of the broth must not be way over thick and creamy.
19. Boil up to 10 minutes, more or less, depending on the softness of the fish. When ready, add cut dill and parsley. Serving Place smeared with rouille or aioli (spicy sauces) crusty slices of bread into soup bowls and spoon the bouillabaisse in.