Fishy Food

To say that France is known for its food would be somewhat of an understatement. As a gastronomy capital of Europe, and indeed the world, there is nothing the French enjoy more than a great cuisine and local specialities, be it wine, bread, cheese, meat, or, more wine.

So over the past couple of months I have sampled a couple of the well-known dishes in the area.

Marseille food is very much embedded in its fishing culture. Fresh produce is on sale nearly every day down at the Old Port in the centre of the city, where the smell of fish is now a permanent fixture. 

Consequently, the restaurants serve up a number of tasty meals from the catch of the day.

Firstly, snails – or rather sea snails. As stereotypical as snails are in France, I had never tried them before so this was a culinary adventure. Although I wasn’t completely convinced by the idea, nor was I too impressed when I had to remove the snails from their shells, overall they are quite delicious, if not a little plain. They are for all intents and purposes a more squidgy and chewy mushroom, and when served with accompanying dips and sauces are quite light but satisfying starters.

I also tasted some Tartare de Saumon, which is raw salmon that has been seasoned and garnished, alongside a small salad and some toast. Think sushi a la francaise.

Bouillabaisse

Finally, one of the most infamous dishes in Marseille, and certainly one of the tastiest I have sampled since living here, is Bouillabaisse, which is a fish stew. However, this is no ordinary concoction – no the brew is brimming with just about every fish fresh from the sea. The soup itself is made up of several different fish that have been boiled down and mixed together, and then extra fish are cooked whole and chunks are liberally spread throughout. The stew comes with small pieces of toast and a garlic/mustard sauce called Alioli and is surprisingly filling. I found it difficult to finish my (huge) portion, but the challenge was worth it.

Recipes can be found online for those with kitchen know-how, but to give you a flavour of the fish that could be found, here is a sample ingredient list for a traditional Bouillabaisse.

Ingrédients:

1,8 kg rouget (Red Mullet) 1 congre, en 4 tranches (4 Slices of eel) 10 petits crabes (10 little crabs) 1,3 kg rascasse (Scorpion Fish) 1,3 kg baudroie (Monkfish) 1,3 kg grondin rouge (Searobin) 1,3 kg Saint-Pierre (John Dory) 900 g tomates, coupées en 4 (Tomatoes cut into 4 slices) 4 oignons, en tranche (Sliced Onion) 2 gousses d’ail, haché (Chopped Garlic Cloves) 2 c. à s. concentré de tomate (Tomato Purée) Huile d’olive (Olive Oil) Bouquet d’herbes: aneth – Dill (2 brins – Sprig/A touch of); laurier – bay leaf (1 feuille – Leaf); persil – Parsley (1 brin – a little/a touch of); Pelure d’orange – Orange peel Sel, poivre – Salt, Pepper 2 c. à c. safran – Saffron