Bouillabaisse

We start the bouillabaisse by gently cooking loads of sliced fennel, onion and garlic, then adding tomatoes and homemade fish stock, along with aromatics like bay, thyme, orange zest and saffron.

We then chill this broth, adding uncooked diced ling fillet and prawns to the chilled soup base and freezing the lot. When you want to cook your bouillabaisse, just defrost it completely over the course of a day in the fridge before heating in a saucepan or microwave, stirring occasionally until piping hot. By the time the soup is piping hot, the seafood will be perfectly cooked.

You could further extend the bouillabaisse by adding cooked mussels, crab and/or waxy potatoes to the soup towards the end of cooking time and make a real feast of it. 

Ling, prawns, fish stock (bones, carrots, fennel, celery, onion, garlic, pepper, thyme, bay leaves, water), olive oil, onions, garlic, fennel bulb and seeds, white wine,  tomatoes, tomato paste, thyme, bay leaves, orange zest, saffron, salt.

Add other cooked seafood if wished - mussels, crab, etc - during the last minute or so of cooking and slices of cooked, waxy potatoes for a more substantial dinner.

Serve with slices of crusty baguette and rouille. (For a quick rouille, blend 100ml of high-quality mayo with 50g of roasted red pepper - from a jar is fine - half a minced garlic clove and a pinch of saffron. Taste for balance and adjust.)