Bouillabaisse Day

What the day is

Bouillabaisse Day is observed on December 14. It is a fish stew from Marseille, and it is widely misunderstood outside that city.

Origin and background

It began as a fishermen's dish assembled from what could not be sold. The bony, spiny Mediterranean rockfish left in the bottom of the boat went into a pot on the shore with seawater, olive oil and whatever aromatics were to hand. The name comes from Provençal and describes the method: bring it to a boil, then lower the heat.

That origin determines the ingredients, and this is where versions made elsewhere usually go wrong. The dish depends on whole bony fish, above all the rascasse or scorpionfish, along with conger eel, weever and gurnard. The bones and heads supply the gelatin and depth that make the broth what it is. Neat fillets of Atlantic whitefish produce a perfectly pleasant fish soup that is not this dish.

Marseille restaurateurs grew sufficiently irritated by what was being sold under the name that in 1980 they drew up a charter setting out which species must be present, how the dish should be prepared, and that the fish should be presented and filleted in front of the diner.

The other defining elements are saffron and fennel, and the service in two stages. The broth arrives first, with toasted bread and rouille, a garlicky sauce sharpened with chili and thickened with bread or potato. The fish follows as a separate course. Serving it all together in one bowl is the other common departure from the original.

How to take part

• Use whole small bony fish, heads included, and ask the fishmonger for whatever is cheap and ugly.
• Do not substitute fillets and expect the same result. The bones do the work.
• Make the rouille. It is not optional and it takes ten minutes.
• Serve the broth first and the fish afterward, which is how it is meant to arrive.
• If you are ever in Marseille, order it somewhere that signed the charter.