How to make Provençal fish stew – recipe | Felicity Cloake's Masterclass

. UK edition

Two bowls of creamy fish stew with shrimp and vegetables, alongside bread and a bowl of sauce.
Felicity Cloake’s Provençal fish stew. Photograph: Robert Billington/The Guardian. Food styling: Loïc Parisot.

Fish stew in the south of France doesn’t have to mean a complicated bouillabaise: bourride is a simpler and equally perfect match for a summer’s evening

Much as I love bouillabaisse, I’ve never come across rascasse, the spiny Mediterranean rockfish that’s the backbone of Marseille’s signature dish, outside its homeland. Bourride, another southern French fish stew, is a simpler affair that’s much easier to recreate here. Enriched with garlicky aïoli, it’s a lovely thing for a summer’s evening, and can be prepared ahead up to the end of step 7.

Prep 20 min
Cook 1 hr 10 min
Serves 2, generously

For the aïoli
1 garlic clove
1 pinch coarse salt
1 egg yolk
75ml light olive oil, or neutral oil
30ml extra-virgin olive oil
1 tsp lemon juice, or to taste
Salt and white pepper, to taste

For the stew
6 sustainably sourced raw shell-on prawns (optional)
2 small leeks
1 fennel bulb
2 tbsp oil
3 garlic cloves, peeled and sliced
1 long strip orange peel, cut into slivers
½ tsp fennel seeds
1 pinch saffron threads
Salt and pepper
75ml dry white wine
500ml fish stock (or use the fish and shellfish carcasses to make your own: see step 4)
400g sustainably sourced firm-fleshed white fish – eg, hake, gurnard, monkfish, pollock (and preferably a mix), all cut into bite-size pieces
Bread, or croutons or boiled new potatoes, to serve

1 A note on the fish

Bourride can be made with any fish that’s firm enough to keep its shape – Richard Olney’s Lulu’s Provençal Table simply specifies any “filleted white-fleshed fish”. I like a combination of hake and gurnard, but cod, mullet, haddock, monkfish, bream, etc, will also work here. Ask to keep the carcasses if your fishmonger is filleting the fish for you (or for any they have going spare).

2 Shellfish or no shellfish?

Though some claim shellfish is never used, Caroline Rimbert Craig includes squid or prawns in Provence: The Cookbook and Alex Jackson mussels in his book Provençal (previously known as Sardine). For many of us, shell-on prawns are easier to come by than fishmongers, so I’ve included some here to enrich a ready-made stock, but feel free to leave them out if you’re a purist.

3 Fry the veg and prawn shells

Shell the prawns if using, keeping the shells. Roughly chop one of the leeks and half the fennel, then soften them in the oil in a large saucepan.

Stir in the garlic, most of the orange peel, the fennel seeds and saffron, season generously and fry for two minutes. Stir in the prawn shells, if using, turn up the heat and saute to a vivid pink.

4 Deglaze and add the stock

Add the wine and, once that’s almost evaporated, pour in the stock (or, if using fish carcasses, add them now and cover with cold water instead).

Bring to a simmer, then turn down the heat and leave to bubble away gently for 20 minutes (if making your own stock from scratch, give it half an hour).

Strain into a large jug – you should have about 400ml broth – and top up with water, if need be. Discard the carcasses and aromatics.

5 Make the aïoli

Meanwhile, to make the aïoli, crush the garlic with the salt. To stay traditional, beat this mixture into the egg yolk, then very gradually whisk in the oils a very little at a time, until thick and emulsified (you can use just one type of oil, if you like, but this mix gives the aïoli a more balanced flavour). Add the lemon juice and season to taste.

6 Or blitz the garlic and egg …

Alternatively, if you have a hand blender and a cylindrical container just slightly larger than the head, put the crushed garlic and salt mix, egg yolk and lemon juice in the container and add a tablespoon of cold water. Pour 75ml oil on top, then leave this to settle for a minute, so the oil rises to the top.

7 … and finish with a hand blender

Resting the head of the blender on the base of the container, whizz on high speed until a thick emulsion begins to billow upwards. Slowly tilt the container gradually to introduce the rest of the oil to the emulsion, until it’s all incorporated. Whisk in the extra-virgin olive oil by hand (whizzing it can make it bitter) and season to taste.

8 Now back to the stew

Return the strained broth to the empty pan and bring to a simmer. Cook each variety of fish and seafood separately by dropping it carefully into the hot broth, then cover the pan, turn down the heat and leave until just cooked.

Transfer to a plate or shallow bowl and repeat with the rest of the seafood. Once all the fish is cooked, divide it between warmed serving bowls. Finely slice the remaining leek and fennel, poach them in the broth same way, then add to the bowls once soft.

9 Finishing touches

Take the broth off the heat. Put three tablespoons of the aïoli in a heatproof bowl, then gradually whisk in a ladleful of the warm broth to loosen. Slowly whisk this mix into the broth pot, then heat very, very gently just to warm through. Divide the broth between the serving bowls, scatter over the remaining orange peel and serve with the aïoli and bread, croutons or boiled potatoes.