Cooking corner: Rimfall soup

by Dobbin

This is a recipe inspired by the people of Krull, who constructed a circumfence to catch the flotsam and jetsam which came their way. They built a successful economy on salvage. The Rim is the edge of Discworld, where water continuously falls. One of the great mysteries is why the water never runs out, or indeed, where it falls to.

In The Last Hero, Leonard da Quirm, Captain Carrot and Rincewind (and a surprise guest) set out on an epic voyage to The Rim (and indeed beyond) in The Kite (complete with the Salmon of Thunder) and end up seeing Disksink.

This soup is called Bouillabaisseand there are as many recipes for it as there are chefs cooking it. It comes from the city of Marseille, and I imagined the people of Krull would eat something like this. It is alleged the Krullians eat the sailors of the ships unlucky enough to sail too close to the Rim, although in France we prefer to eat this stew with croutons and rouille.

The recipe

Really, you need a big party to cook this, and cook for at least 8 people.

Bouillabaisse

2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

1 onion, halved and sliced

1 pinch of cumin seeds

2 pinches of fennel seeds

1 fresh red chilli, finely chopped

1 large fennel bulb, sliced

1 leek, sliced (white part only)

500 grams of fresh roma tomatoes, peeled and deseeded, chopped

1 kg of fresh firm fish fillets (e.g snapper, cod, monkfish, gurnard, skin on or off as preferred (not oily fish, so no mackerel, salmon, etc.))

8 to 10 green lip mussels, debearded and scrubbed well

1 crab, halved and cleaned

6 king prawns

A large pinch of saffron threads

1 litre of fish stock (heated with saffron)

1 tablespoon tomato paste

Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

2 to 3 large potatoes, chopped and boiled until tender

2 cloves of garlic, finely chopped

Freshly chopped parsley

Method

Heat oil in a large saucepan, fry onions, cumin and fennel seeds and chilli for two minutes.

Add the sliced fennel bulb and leek and continue frying for another couple of minutes before stirring in the tomatoes.

Place fish and seafood pieces in neatly, putting the densest fish in first, finishing with the prawns on top.

Cover with the warmed stock, saffron and tomato paste.

Season with salt and pepper and boil for 10 minutes or until the fish is just cooked through.

Transfer the fish pieces to a large warmed platter and mix through the potatoes. Sprinkle with chopped parsley.

Add the garlic to the liquid and pour into a soup tureen for everyone to help themselves.

Rouille

2 egg yolks

¼ teaspoon of dijon mustard

250 ml / 8.8 fl oz of olive oil (don't use all extra virgin as it can have a rather bitter taste)

2 teaspoons of hot water

1 red capsicum, roasted, peeled, deseeded and minced

1 clove of garlic, crushed

A pinch or two of chilli powder

2 teaspoons of lemon juice or to taste

Salt & pepper to taste

Method

Place the 2 egg yolks and the Dijon mustard in a blender or large bowl. Whisk for 1 minute.

Very slowly pour in the oil, whisking continuously until the mixture has a thick consistency.

Whisk in the hot water; this helps stabilize the mayonnaise and gives it a lighter colour.

Flavour with minced capsicum, garlic, chilli powder, lemon juice, salt and pepper.

Chill before serving.

I hope you enjoy this recipe. Next month I'll be looking at Mushroom recipes.