Ingredients
Check off ingredients as you go
Serves 6
- fish carcasses of your choice (sea bass and sea bream heads and bones for me)
- 4 garlic cloves, peeled
- 2 celery stalks
- 2 carrots, cut into chunks
- 1 large onion, quartered
- 1 small can tomato paste (or 3 tbsp)
- bouquet garni (2 bay leaves, thyme sprigs)
- 1 tsp fennel seeds
- 1 star anise or half a capful of Pastis (optional)
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 1 glass white wine (optional)
- about 1.5L (6 cups) broth or water
- Salt, pepper
- To serve
- 1 fish fillet per person (cod, sea bream, sea bass)
For rouille sauce
- 3 garlic cloves, crushed
- 1/2 tsp paprika
- 1 pinch saffron (optional)
- 1 level tbsp mustard
- 2 egg yolks (extra fresh)
- 150ml (⅔ cup) neutral oil (I like 4-oil blend)
- 150ml (⅔ cup) olive oil
- Salt
This fish soup is particularly flavorful and easy to make, even on a weeknight, and best of all, it allows you to use parts you might have thrown away when they’re actually the star ingredient of this recipe. You can even make this recipe without adding the fish fillets.
Preparing the Homemade Fish Soup
Pour the oil into a large pot and sweat the garlic, onion, carrot, and celery for a few minutes. Add the fish heads, bay leaves, and thyme. Deglaze with white wine (if using), then add the tomato paste. Add enough water to cover everything.
Bring to a boil, reduce to medium heat and cook for 30 minutes.
Meanwhile, if desired, steam the fish fillets. When the soup is cooked (check by inserting a knife into the vegetables), remove the onion, carrots, and garlic cloves with a slotted spoon and put them in the blender (not the celery, to avoid strings in the soup).
Strain the remaining broth through a fine-mesh strainer to catch all the bones, pressing well to extract the cooking juices. Add this liquid to the blender.
My little trick here is to recover the flesh from the fish cheeks and head and blend them with the rest. It’s a very tender part that would be a shame to waste and will intensify the soup’s flavor.
- Blend everything together and serve piping hot in bowls or soup plates, with the fish fillet, accompanied by toasted baguette, homemade rouille sauce, and optionally grated cheese.
🐟 If you’d like to learn more about fish in Israel, I’ve written a practical guide and French-Hebrew lexicon of fish to help you navigate and discover the choices available to you!