Until quite recently fish cookery was intimately linked to making sauces. As a result the prestigious dishes were those like filets de sole normande, which combined a buttery, creamy reduction sauce, a fillet of Dover sole and a shellfish garnish. Delicious as classic recipes of that type are, they don’t represent contemporary fish cookery. The trend away from rich coating sauces, means that fish dishes, grilled, steamed or baked, both as fillets and on the bone are more exciting, less predictable than before. Our selection of seven French fish recipes includes one of the most widely known – Bouillabaisse:

Bouillabaisse

For such a famous dish, it’s to be expected that there’s plenty of argument as to how it evolved and how it should be prepared. Marseillais are renowned for their argumentative nature. Still, there is general agreement that the dish derives from bouille (boil – that is bring the pot to the boil) and baisse (lower- that is turn down the heat). Rockfish form the base of this soup-stew, but it should also contain a variety of white fish too, enough to make a meal.


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