Mediterranean Fish Soup

For the rouille: Place the bread in a bowl and pour warm water over to cover. Peel the garlic and crush in a mortar with the chile pepper.  Squeeze the bread to extract the water, transfer to a bowl along with the garlic mixture. Add the oil in a thin stream and whisk until combine.

Clean and rinse the mussels.

Cut the fish fillets into pieces and rinse the prawns.

Toast the bay leaf in a dry skillet with the peppercorns and coriander, pour in the wine and anisette and bring to a simmer and set aside.

Rinse the vegetables and chop. In a small saucepan dissolve the sugar with 1 tablespoon of water and cook until lightly caramelized. Heat the oil in a skillet and sauté the vegetables until crisp-tender. Stir in the tomato paste, simmer briefly and stir in the saffron. Strain the broth through a sieve.

Add the mussels along with the garlic and thyme branches to the broth and simmer for 2 to 3 minutes. Add the fish fillets and shrimp and simmer until just cooked through. 

Toast the baguette slices. Using a slotted spoon, lift the seafood and the vegetables out of the soup and spoon into bowls, remove the thyme and garlic.