Ingredients

• 2 tbsp olive oil
• 2 onions
• finely chopped
• 1 small fennel
• finely chopped
• 2 garlic cloves
• crushed
• 1 heaped tbsp tomato purée
• 100ml/3½fl oz dry white wine
• 750ml/1¼ pint fish stock
• 6 large tomatoes
• skinned and roughly chopped
• pinch saffron
• small bunch basil
• stalks and leaves separated
• leaves shredded
• 1 small orange
• zest and juice
• 1kg/2lb 4oz mussels
• scrubbed and debearded
• 350g/12oz cod
• skinned and cut into 15mm/â…�in slices
• 2 sea bass fillet
• skinned and cut into 5 slices
• 200g/7oz cooked crayfish tails
• shelled
• salt and freshly ground black pepper
• pinch saffron
• ½ small lemon
• juice only
• 6 heaped tbsp full-fat mayonnaise
• 1 large garlic clove
• crushed

Directions

• Heat the oil in a large
• deep saucepan. Add the onion and fennel and cook for 5 minutes
• or until starting to soften. Add the garlic and tomato purée and stir for 30 seconds. Add the wine
• stock and tomatoes. Bring up to the boil
• add the saffron
• basil stalks and orange zest. Cover and simmer for 10 minutes.
• Discard any mussels with broken shells and any that refuse to close when tapped. Add the mussels
• turn in the pan and cover with a lid. Boil for about 4 minutes
• or until all of the mussels have opened. Discard any that have not opened. Take the pan off the heat.
• Carefully scoop out the cooked mussels. Reserve 18 mussels
• then remove the remaining mussels from their shells and place in a small bowl. Discard the basil stalks.
• Blend the soup until completely smooth
• transfer to a saucepan and simmer uncovered for 10 minutes to reduce. (You should have about 2 litres/3½ pints in total at this point.)
• Season with salt and pepper and add the juice from half the orange. Add the cod and seabass
• cover and gently simmer for 3–4 minutes
• then return the cooked mussels
• reserved mussels in shells and the crayfish tails and heat for another 2–3 minutes
• or until piping hot and all of the fish is cooked.
• Spoon into bowls and sprinkle with shredded basil leaves.
• To make the rouille
• soak the saffron in the lemon juice and mix together with the garlic and mayonnaise in a bowl. Season with salt and pepper and spoon on top of the bouillabaisse.