Soup of the Season, Soul-Warming Soup

In the French imagination, fisherman live the way cowboys do in American folklore. They’re independent, they take risks, they taunt nature by going out in boats to round up the denizens of the deep. It’s a rough way of life. Much of the year, the weather is bad, the sea choppy and cold. Fishermen are notorious for their gruff ways and their bad language--stuff that makes it easy for landlubbers to romanticize their work.

It’s a society of men who live aboard a ship for days at a time in cramped quarters. They don’t carry many provisions and depend largely on their daily catch for meals. Americans picture cowboys under a great sky, sitting around a campfire with a caldron of chili bubbling. The French keep an image of fishermen, huddled on a boat, the Atlantic wind blowing, sitting around a caldron of boiling broth, ready for some freshly caught fish to be thrown in. This is “guy” cooking.

What’s cooked on the boats is usually simple fishermen’s soup, soupe de pecheurs , made from cut-up pieces of fish. A variation is the fish pot-- potee de poissons --using whole fish, quickly cooked so that the fish don’t fall apart. The cooked fish are pulled out of the pot, their flesh is placed into soup bowls and then mashed together with the soup broth.

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In the ports and coastal villages, though, these simple soups are made more civilized by fishermen’s wives and fishmongers. They become comfort dishes--a pot simmering on the stove, symbolizing hearth and home. Some are still quite simple, others more elaborate.

Each coastal region of France has its traditional fish soup. Many of the basic recipes are similar, their individual personality coming from the kind of fish that are used and the produce of the area. Cotriade , the fish soup of Brittany, needs conger eel to give it succulence. It also has to have potatoes in it. Soupe corse , from Corsica, has roasted red peppers added. The Basque ttoro , from the southwest corner of France, contains mussels, conger eel, rockfish and langostinos , and is flavored with olive oil and tomatoes.

Chaudree , the fish soup from Poitou, adds Muscadet wine and can have bacon in it. Some say that this is the original version of our American chowder, because it often includes cream. In the south, around Nice, they make bourride , thickened with aioli , a garlicky mayonnaise.

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Clearly, though, the most famous fish soup is bouillabaisse, from Marseilles, the great Mediterranean port. It’s flavored with saffron and tomatoes and has become a staple in restaurants around the world. Its base is soupe de poissons , a simple fish soup whose ingredients--tomatoes, onions, fish bones and heads--is pounded through a conical strainer with large holes to extract the bits of fish and the essence of the bones to give the soup a hearty texture. For a first course, serve soupe de poissons with croutons, shredded cheese and the fiery sauce known as rouille . To make a bouillabaisse, simmer an assortment of fish, seafood, mussels and even lobster in it.

Fish soups are rustic fare. The method is easy, and the spirit of the dish means that you can vary any recipe by using whatever fish or seafood is fresh, and by adding any vegetables you think will go well in the mix. In Marseilles, you’ll find varieties of bouillabaisse where the fish is grilled separately and served apart from the soup.

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People argue over the correct way to make each of these fish soups in the most accurate manner. But this is not exacting cooking. Don’t strive for authenticity; in the case of fish soups, the authenticity is in the mind of the cook.

COTRIADE

4 slices bacon, cut crosswise into thin, short strips

3 onions, finely chopped

1 1/2 quarts water

2 fish heads, tied in cheesecloth

2 sprigs fresh thyme or 1/4 teaspoon dried

2 bay leaves

2 teaspoons salt or to taste

1 teaspoon ground white pepper

1 large potato, peeled and thinly sliced

3 pounds assorted fish such as monkfish, eel, halibut, salmon, cut up

Croutons

Place bacon in 3-quart pan over medium heat and cook 3 minutes. Add onions and cook, stirring occasionally, 5 minutes longer or until onions are tender. Add water, fish heads, thyme, bay leaves, salt and pepper. Increase heat to high. Bring to boil and cook 20 minutes.

Remove fish heads from broth and reduce heat to medium. Add potato and cook 5 minutes. Add assorted fish and cook 5 minutes longer or until fish is done. Remove bay leaves. Pour into soup tureen. Serve immediately with croutons on side. Makes 4 to 5 servings.

CHAUDREE

1 tablespoon butter

2 onions, finely chopped

1 medium leek, white part only, cut into thin rounds

1 teaspoon finely minced garlic

1 cup white wine

3 cups water or canned low-sodium vegetable or chicken broth

1 cup whipping cream

2 sprigs fresh thyme or 1/4 teaspoon dried

2 bay leaves

1 teaspoon ground white pepper

2 teaspoons salt or to taste

3 pounds assorted white fish such as halibut, cod, Dover sole, black bass, cut up

Croutons

Melt butter in 3-quart pan over medium heat. Add onions, leek and garlic. Cook, stirring occasionally, 5 minutes. Add wine and cook 1 minute. Add water, cream, thyme, bay leaves, white pepper and salt. Increase heat to high. Bring to boil.

Add fish. Cover and cook 5 minutes or until fish is done. Remove bay leaves. Pour into soup tureen. Serve immediately with croutons on side. Makes 4 to 5 servings.

SOUPE DE POISSONS

4 pounds fish bones and scraps

2 teaspoons olive oil

2 onions, sliced

6 cloves garlic, chopped

8 plum tomatoes, preferably overripe, or 2 (16-ounce) cans peeled whole tomatoes, without liquid, cut up

1 tablespoon tomato paste

2 cups dry white wine

5 cups cold water

2 tablespoons Pernod or anisette

2 teaspoons salt or to taste

1 teaspoon whole peppercorns

2 bay leaves

2 sprigs fresh thyme or 1/4 teaspoon dried

Dash saffron

1/2 teaspoon grated orange zest

Croutons

Rouille

Shredded Swiss cheese

Rinse fish bones well, then drain.

Combine olive oil, onions and garlic in 10-quart stock pot or kettle over medium heat and cook, stirring, 5 minutes. Add tomatoes, tomato paste and fish bones. Reduce heat to low and cook 10 minutes. Add wine and water to pot. Increase heat and bring to boil. Add Pernod, salt, peppercorns, bay leaves, thyme, saffron and orange zest. Reduce heat to medium and simmer, uncovered, 1 hour.

Pass some broth through large cone strainer, pounding bones with large wooden spoon to extract their juices and so that little bits of fish will give texture to soup. When bones in strainer are dry, ladle in more soup, repeating process until all liquid has been strained. Remove and discard any fat from surface of soup.

Replace soup in pot. Cook until flavor is strengthened and texture is thickened. Pour soup into bowls. Serve with croutons to taste, Rouille and shredded Swiss cheese. Makes 4 to 5 servings.

Rouille

1/4 pound potatoes, peeled

1/2 cup Soupe de Poissons

1/2 tablespoon cayenne pepper

Dash saffron

12 cloves garlic

2 egg yolks

1/2 teaspoon salt, or to taste

1 1/2 cups virgin olive oil

Cut potatoes into 1/2-inch pieces. Place in small saucepan and add Soupe de Poissons, cayenne and saffron. Bring to boil over medium heat. Cook, covered, until potatoes are done. Uncover and continue cooking until liquid is reduced and potato chunks fall apart and have mushy appearance. Remove from heat and allow to cool 5 minutes.

Transfer mixture to blender or food processor. Add garlic, egg yolks and salt. Blend until smooth. Add olive oil in slow, steady stream until absorbed and mixture is of mayonnaise consistency. Makes 2 cups.

Note : Best bones to use are from non-oily fish, such as halibut, John Dory, sole or flounder. Salmon bones give bitter flavor to stocks. Swordfish bones give unpleasantly fishy flavor. Shrimp shells and lobster carcasses make important additions to fish stew soup.

Note: Although many recipes call for uncooked eggs, the U.S. Department of Agriculture has found them to be a potential carrier of food-borne illness and recommends that diners avoid eating raw eggs. Commercial egg substitutes that have been pasturized may be used in place of raw eggs in certain circumstances. Check egg substitute package for applications.

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