Rouille is magic sauce and can be drizzled into the broth, used as a dipping sauce, or spread on a baguette. If you aren’t feeling up to the bouillabaisse, you can always prepare the mussels in a traditional butter, garlic, and white wine broth and serve them with rouille.
Makes
2 servingsIngredients
For the rouille
- ½ cup canned roasted red pepper drained, or ½ roasted red pepper, skin and seeds removed
- 3 tablespoons fresh flat-leaf parsley lightly packed
- 1 egg yolk
- 1 teaspoon minced garlic
- 1 ½ teaspoons fresh lemon juice
- ¼ teaspoon kosher salt
- 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
For the bouillabaisse
- 1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
- ½ cup diced carrot
- ½ cup diced fennel
- ½ cup diced leeks well cleaned
- ½ cup diced onion
- Pinch of kosher salt
- Tiny pinch of red pepper flakes
- 1 teaspoon minced garlic
- 1 cup clam stock or chicken broth
- ¼ cup white wine
- Pinch of saffron threads
- 1 pound mussels cleaned and beards removed
- 1 ½ tablespoons Pernod or other anisette liqueur
- Baguette for dunking
Instructions
- To make the rouille, mash the roasted pepper, parsley, egg yolk, garlic, lemon juice, and salt with a potato masher in a small bowl, or pulse everything in a food processor. Slowly whisk in the oil, barely dribbling it in at the beginning and then building to a slow, steady stream. If the sauce is too thick, add a little of the bouillabaisse broth once it’s made.
- To make the bouillabaisse, heat the oil in a medium saucepan over medium-high heat. Add the carrot, fennel, leeks, onion, salt, and red pepper flakes and sauté for 10 minutes, or until the onions are translucent and the rest of the vegetables are soft. Add the garlic and sauté for 1 minute. Then add the stock, wine, and saffron and bring to a boil. Add the mussels and Pernod, cover, and boil for 2–3 minutes. The mussels are done when they open completely. Remove any that don’t open at all. Serve immediately, with rouille and a baguette for dunking.
