Rouille
Rouille, French for “rust”, is the sauce traditionally served with bouillabaisse in Marseille. Garlic pounded with bread soaked in fish stock, egg yolk, saffron and a pinch of cayenne, emulsified with olive oil into a thick, rust-orange paste. It is spread on toasts that float in the soup, or a spoonful is stirred straight into the bowl to thicken and season the broth. It is hotter and bolder than aioli, and the bread makes the emulsion steadier and easier to make.
Your own work in that: 15 min.
- Preparation 10 min
- Emulsifying 15 min
Step by step
0 / 8 doneSoak the saffron
Crumble the saffron between your fingers and pour over a tablespoon of hot stock. Leave 10 minutes to release its colour.
Ingredients: 1 pinch saffron · 3 tbsp hot fish stock or water · 30 g stale white bread, crusts removed · 3 cloves garlic · ½ tsp coarse salt · 1 pcs egg yolk, at room temperature · ¼ tsp cayenne pepper · 150 ml mild olive oil · 1 tsp lemon juice
Saffron in hot stock gives up its colour.Soak the bread
Pour 2 tablespoons of hot stock over the bread and leave until completely soft. Squeeze lightly.
Ingredients: 1 pinch saffron · 3 tbsp hot fish stock or water · 30 g stale white bread, crusts removed · 3 cloves garlic · ½ tsp coarse salt · 1 pcs egg yolk, at room temperature · ¼ tsp cayenne pepper · 150 ml mild olive oil · 1 tsp lemon juice
Pound the garlic
Pound the garlic with the salt in a mortar into a smooth paste.
Ingredients: 1 pinch saffron · 3 tbsp hot fish stock or water · 30 g stale white bread, crusts removed · 3 cloves garlic · ½ tsp coarse salt · 1 pcs egg yolk, at room temperature · ¼ tsp cayenne pepper · 150 ml mild olive oil · 1 tsp lemon juice
Add bread and yolk
Add the soaked bread, yolk, saffron with its liquid and the cayenne, and pound until smooth and orange.
Ingredients: 1 pinch saffron · 3 tbsp hot fish stock or water · 30 g stale white bread, crusts removed · 3 cloves garlic · ½ tsp coarse salt · 1 pcs egg yolk, at room temperature · ¼ tsp cayenne pepper · 150 ml mild olive oil · 1 tsp lemon juice
Bread, yolk and saffron — the base of rouille.Start the oil
Add the oil drop by drop, working constantly with the pestle or a whisk. The first 50 ml decide success — oil added too fast breaks the emulsion.
Ingredients: 1 pinch saffron · 3 tbsp hot fish stock or water · 30 g stale white bread, crusts removed · 3 cloves garlic · ½ tsp coarse salt · 1 pcs egg yolk, at room temperature · ¼ tsp cayenne pepper · 150 ml mild olive oil · 1 tsp lemon juice
Drop by drop until it thickens.Add in a stream
Once the mixture clearly thickens, pour in the rest of the oil in a thin stream, still stirring, until the sauce is as thick as mayonnaise.
Ingredients: 1 pinch saffron · 3 tbsp hot fish stock or water · 30 g stale white bread, crusts removed · 3 cloves garlic · ½ tsp coarse salt · 1 pcs egg yolk, at room temperature · ¼ tsp cayenne pepper · 150 ml mild olive oil · 1 tsp lemon juice
Season
Add the lemon juice, taste and adjust with salt and cayenne. Rouille should be clearly garlicky and hot.
Ingredients: 1 pinch saffron · 3 tbsp hot fish stock or water · 30 g stale white bread, crusts removed · 3 cloves garlic · ½ tsp coarse salt · 1 pcs egg yolk, at room temperature · ¼ tsp cayenne pepper · 150 ml mild olive oil · 1 tsp lemon juice
Serve
Serve at once with fish soup and baguette toasts. Transfer the rest to a clean small jar, close it and refrigerate straight away — eat within 2 days at most.
Ingredients: 1 pinch saffron · 3 tbsp hot fish stock or water · 30 g stale white bread, crusts removed · 3 cloves garlic · ½ tsp coarse salt · 1 pcs egg yolk, at room temperature · ¼ tsp cayenne pepper · 150 ml mild olive oil · 1 tsp lemon juice
Before you start
Raw yolk
The sauce contains raw egg yolk and raw garlic, so it is not for children, pregnant women, the elderly or anyone immunocompromised — for them, make rouille with a pasteurised egg yolk. Use very fresh eggs, keep the sauce in the fridge only, in a closed jar, for 2 days at most, and do not leave it on the table beyond the meal.
With potato
Some Marseille cooks use a boiled potato (about 80 g) pounded with the garlic instead of bread. The rouille comes out smoother and a little milder.
If the sauce splits
If the emulsion breaks, whisk a teaspoon of hot stock with a little of the split sauce in a clean bowl, then add the rest a teaspoon at a time, stirring constantly. Avoid adding a second raw yolk unless you have to — the sauce gets heavier.