Soupe de poisson has the same taste as bouillabaisse, but the soup is strained and pasta is cooked in it to give a light liaison. If you are making the soup on the Mediterranean, you will come home with dozens of tiny, freshly caught fish all colors of the rainbow. Elsewhere, use whole fish, fish heads, bones, and trimmings, shellfish carcasses, or just bottled clam juice.

For 6 to 8 people

A Soup Kettle
1 cup minced onions
3/4 cup of minced leek, or ½ cup more onions
1/2 cup olive oil
4 cloves mashed garlic
1 lb. of ripe, red tomatoes, roughly chopped or 1 1/2 cups drained canned tomatoes, or ¼ cup tomato paste
2 1/2 quarts water
6 parsley sprigs
1 bay leaf
1/2 tsp thyme or basil
1/8 tsp fennel
2 big pinches of saffron
A 2-inch piece or ½ tsp of dried orange peel
1/8; tsp pepper
1 Tb salt (none if clam juice is used)
3 to 4 lbs. lean fish, fish heads, bones, and trimmings, shellfish remains, or frozen fish from the list. Or, 1 quart clam juice, 1 ½ quarts of water and no salt
1/2 to 2/3 cup spaghetti or vermicelli broken into 2-inch pieces
A 3-quart saucepan
Rounds of hard-toasted French bread
1 to 2 cups grated Swiss or Parmesan cheese and rouille (following recipe)

Cook the onions and leeks slowly in olive oil for 5 minutes or until almost tender but not browned.

Stir in the garlic and tomatoes. Raise heat to moderate and cook 5 minutes more.

Add the water, herbs, seasonings, and fish to the kettle and cook uncovered at a moderate boil for 30 to 40 minutes.

Strain the soup into the saucepan, pressing juices out of ingredients. Correct seasoning, adding a bit more saffron if you feel it necessary. Stir in the pasta and boil for 10 to 12 minutes or until tender. Correct seasoning again.

Pour the soup into a tureen or soup plates over the bread rounds, and pass the cheese and rouille separately.

Variation
Substitute 3 or 4 cups of diced ?boiling? potatoes for the pasta, or poach eggs in the soup as for garlic soup.

Rouille (Garlic, Pimiento, and Chili Pepper Sauce)

The following strong sauce is passed separately with fish soup or bouillabaisse; each guest helps himself and stirs it into the soup.

For about 1 cup

¼ cup chopped red bell pepper simmered for several minutes in salted waterand drained, or canned pimiento
A Small chili pepper boiled until tender, or drops of Tabasco sauce
1 medium potato cooked in the soup
4 cloves mashed garlic
1 tsp basil, thyme, or savory
4 to 6 Tb fruity olive oil
Salt and Pepper
2 or 3 Tb hot soup

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