Bouillabaisse - Pressure Cooker Recipe

Recipe: Bouillabaisse Recipe »

This classic French Bouillabaisse recipe is a saffron scented Provencal seafood stew from Marseille. It is made up of rich fish bone broth, mixed seafood and served with garlicky rouille on toast. Learn how to make bouillabaisse in a pressure cooker for a deeper flavour in less time. Find out which fish works best and how to build a collagen rich broth! Perfect for Valentines day coming up or for dinner parties.

About Bouillabaisse

Bouillabaisse is a delicious saffron scented French Provencal seafood stew that hails from Marseille, the second largest city in France. Bouillabaisse is one of Marseille's most famous food export and was created to use up the scraps from the day's catch like fish heads and bones that make up the rich, scarlet broth topped with seafood. Bouillabaisse is served with toast topped with rouille, a spicy, garlicky spread similar to mayonnaise.

The bones and head of the fish form the base of Bouillabaisse's rich broth along with leeks, onions, fennel, tomato and spices and herbs. The broth is cooked extracting all of the goodness and then the solids are strained then the final seafood is cooked quickly in the broth.

I'm going to show you how to make this in the pressure cooker which helps to extract all of that collagen goodness out of the fish bones. A pressure cooker breaks down the collagen into gelatine much better and quicker and actually retains more nutrients.

What types of fish are good in bouillabaisse?

The fish that is considered the most important ingredient is a Scorpion fish or rascasse. This is a white fleshed fish has a mottled red skin and craggy bumps and is also known as poor man's lobster. It is favoured for bouillabaisse as scorpion fish contains a lot of collagen which makes the broth richer and once chilled the broth sets.

Other fish that work well in bouillabaisse:

Scorpion fish is available in Australia but it is not super easy to track down and pricey compared to other fish at up to $63 a kilo with smaller ones weighing just over a kilo but there are plenty of other fish you can use in its place like big eye ocean perch, cod, halibut, snapper, gurnard, rock cod, seabass, grouper, hake, mullet or monkfish. I also like to add a few goat fish or barbounia into the mix but these tend to be quite small and these are better as an addition rather than the main fish.

I'll also show you how to make rouille for the toasts which is one of my favourite parts of bouillabaisse!

Video How To Make Bouillabaisse

Key Ingredients For Bouillabaisse

Fish - I bought whole scorpion fish from the Sydney Fish Markets in Pyrmont. There was only one store that sold it, Claudio's seafood. Other options are big eye ocean perch, cod, halibut, snapper, gurnard, rock cod, seabass, grouper, hake, mullet or monkfish. Avoid oily fish like salmon, sardines, herring or mackerel.

Fish frames - Apart from the head and frame from getting the scorpion fish filleted, we also need some fish frames (head and bones). Ask for snapper or kingfish frames. Sometimes they will charge you for the frames, sometimes they don't (it was $19 for frames).

Other seafood - Other seafood to add to the final simmer can be anything from mussels, clams, prawns, squid, scallops, crayfish, crab or lobster. Go with what your preference or budget allows.

Saffron - Saffron is an essential part of bouillabaisse as it has a distinct aroma and gives the soup a sunny yellow orange colour. It is used in both the broth and the rouille.

Liqueur - Pastis, an aniseed flavour liqueuer is the traditional liqueur from Marseilles used in bouillabaisse so if you like it by all means use this. Other aniseed options are Ouzo and Sambuca. We used dry Vermouth (Noily Prat) and you can also use dry white wine or cognac.

Tips For Making Bouillabaisse

1 - My number 1 tip to make bouillabaisse is to get the fishmonger to clean, scale and fillet your fish and make sure that they reserve the frame. Also ask for bones and head to be cut up so that it is more manageable (cutting up kingfish frames isn't easy). I recommend calling ahead early in the morning to order this and to get them to put aside some fish frames for you. Ideally go for white fish frames like snapper or kingfish.

2 - It is very important to remove liver or organs from the frames as they will give your soup a bitter flavour. Similarly remove the gills from the heads as they contain blood that can give the soup a muddy flavour.

3 - While this looks like a lot of ingredients, they all contribute to the flavour of bouillabaisse. And if you make this in a pressure cooker this can be done in around 35 minutes, something that I would never have considered with a bouillabaisse.

4 - Add the seafood in stages as they all cook at different times and do not overcook the seafood. The fish goes in first for 2 minutes and then the clams or mussels and calamari for another 2 minutes and then the prawns that only need 2 minutes total. The total cooking time for all the fish at the end is around 6 minutes and no more!

5 - I sometimes do bouillabaisse in stages and first make the stock and then add the seafood in. You can make the stock 1 day ahead of time and let it cool and keep in the fridge. The next day bring it to a simmer and add in the seafood. I also make the rouille the day ahead too. This is great if you're making this for guests because it allows you to do so much of it ahead of time.

If you love seafood stews, try my recipe for Portuguese Caldeirada next or this seafood chowder that is creamy and packed with seafood.

Bouillabaisse Recipe

An Original Recipe by Lorraine Elliott

Recipe Overview

Preparation time: 30 minutes

Cooking time: 30 minutes in pressure cooker, 75 minutes on stovetop

Makes: 4 serves of Bouillabaisse

Ingredients Needed

For Soup Base

• Pinch saffron
• 2 teaspoons hot water
• 60g/2ozs oil or butter for frying
• 200g/7ozs onions, peeled and diced
• 120g/4.2oz leeks, peeled and diced
• 1 small fennel (around 220g/7.7ozs), diced (fronds and all)
• 6 cloves garlic, roughly chopped
• 680g/24oz tomato passata
• 4 cups/1 litre water
• 100ml/3.5flozs Pastis, Dry Vermouth or White WIne
• 2 tablespoons tomato paste
• 6 sprigs parsley
• 3 sprigs thyme
• Piece of orange peel
• 2 star anise
• 1 bay leaf
• 2kg/4.4lbs fish bones (liver and gills removed) and prawn shells
• 1 tablespoon salt
• 1.5 teaspoons sugar

Seafood to finish

• 450g/1lb fish fillets (see ingredients for types), cut into large chunks
• 450g/1lb of other seafood (clams, squid and mussels, prawns)
• 4 king prawns
• 8 scallops, roe off

Rouille

• Pinch saffron
• 2 teaspoons hot water
• 35g/1.2oz roasted red capsicum (around 1/2)
• 1 large garlic clove
• 1 egg yolk
• 1 teaspoon lemon juice
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 cup/125ml/4flozs sunflower oil
• 10g/0.3oz fresh breadcrumbs
• 4 slices of sourdough bread
• 2 tablespoons chopped parsley

Step-By-Step Instructions

Step 1 SOUP BASE - Infuse saffron in the water and allow to bloom for 5-10 minutes. Place instant pot on saute setting for 20 minutes and add oil or butter to the pot. Saute, onion, leeks and fennel until soft and fragrant. Add the garlic and saute for 1 minute. Add passata, water, liqueur, tomato paste, parsley, thyme, orange peel, star anise, bay leaf and saffron water and bring to a boil. Add the fish bones and set to pressure cook for 15 minutes. You can also do this in a large pot on the stovetop but it will take around 60 minutes simmering with the lid on.

Step 2 ROUILLE - While the soup is cooking I make the rouille. Use a food processor with a funnel (to slowly drizzle in the oil). Infuse saffron in the water and allow to bloom for 5-10 minutes. Place the saffron water, capsicum, garlic, egg yolk, lemon juice and salt and blitz on high speed until a fine consistency. Then drizzle in the oil in gradually through the funnel with the food processor on constantly. It should emulsify perfectly. Add in the breadcrumbs and process until fine. Scoop rouille into a piping bag.

Step 3 SEAFOOD - Release pressure from the pressure cooker and remove lid. Cool for 20 minutes (optional but I find it easier to handle) and strain the soup mixture in a sieve in 2 lots reserving the scarlet coloured soup. Wash the pot and place the strained soup back into the pot and season with salt and sugar. Before ready to serve, switch pressure cooker to saute and bring the soup to a simmer. Add the fish, clams, squid and mussels and cook for 2 minutes. Then add the prawns and scallops and cook for 2 minutes. Do not overcook the seafood. Ladle into a serving dish.

Step 4 TOAST - Toast the bread until golden on both sides. Cut the tip from the piping bag and pipe rouille on top in squiggles and sprinkle with parsley. Serve toasts alongside the bouillabaisse.

Personal Note

We ate this bouillabaisse on the same weekend that Milo recently celebrated this fourth birthday. This apparently makes him around 30-32 years old in human years. Milo still acts like a puppy and that makes me happy as he acts like life is just a fun adventure.

For his birthday we stayed in a pet friendly hotel and then I made him a birthday cake. It's the same cake I make the dogs every year made with minced pork and roasted sweet potato. This time I shaped it into a bone shape and baked it in the oven. Then while it cooled off we went to the park where Milo promptly lay down in a giant muddy puddle with his ball. It's almost as if he knew that he had the freedom to do anything on that day. A quick swim in the dam and then a shower at home cleaned him right up.

When we got home it was time for birthday cake and dinner. Mr NQN cut off one of the ends of the bone cake to give to Teddy and then placed the rest of the cake down for Milo. "Giving him the whole thing will slow him down," he said. Milo usually eats from a slow feeder bowl as he wolfs down food.

He placed Teddy's bowl down and encouraged Teddy to start eating his food (he always needs a verbal nudge). Then Mr NQN turned around and did a double take, "Where did the cake go?" and Milo, well he was just licking his lips and looking very happy! Milo had devoured his cake in record time! Sometimes I worry that he will get a tummy ache from eating so quickly but nope, he just devours everything with gusto including life!

So tell me Dear Reader, do you like bouillabaisse?