Soupe de Poissons à la Rouille

Instructions

1. Heat olive oil in a large heavy pot over medium-high heat. Sauté the sliced fennel, onion and 4 crushed garlic cloves for 8 minutes until softened. Add the tomatoes and saffron, crushing the tomatoes with a spoon.
2. Add the fish (cleaned and cut into chunks), pour in the white wine and enough cold water to cover (about 1.5 litres). Add a bay leaf and a strip of orange zest.
3. Bring to a vigorous boil and cook for 20 minutes. The strong boil helps emulsify the fish oils into the broth.
4. Remove any large bones you can see. Blend the entire soup using an immersion blender, then pass through a fine sieve or food mill, pressing hard to extract all liquid. Discard the solids.
5. Return the strained soup to the pot, bring to a simmer and season with salt, pepper and a squeeze of lemon. Keep warm.
6. Make the rouille: blend the remaining 2 garlic cloves with the egg yolk, a pinch of saffron, salt and a teaspoon of lemon juice. Slowly drizzle in olive oil while blending until you have a thick, creamy emulsion.
7. Toast the baguette croutons. To serve, ladle the soup into bowls. Pass the croutons, rouille and Gruyère separately for guests to add as they wish.

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