Ttoro
Ttoro is the fishermen's soup of Saint-Jean-de-Luz, the Basque answer to Marseille's bouillabaisse — simpler and hotter. White fish, mussels and prawns cooked in a broth of tomato, onion and paprika, with croutons rubbed with garlic. By tradition it was made from whatever the catch left over, so there is no single canon: what matters is fresh fish and adding each thing at its own moment. Mussels take 4 minutes, fish 5, prawns 3 — any longer and everything turns rubbery.
Your own work in that: 10 min.
- Preparation 20 min
- Broth 25 min
- Fish and shellfish 15 min
- Serving 10 min
Step by step
0 / 8 doneClean the mussels
Scrub the mussels under cold water and pull off the beards. Discard any that are open and do not close when tapped, and any with cracked shells — they are dead.
Ingredients: 600 g cod, hake or pollock fillet · 500 g mussels in the shell · 200 g raw prawns
Discard mussels that stay open.Prepare the fish
Cut the fillet into bite-sized pieces (about 4 cm), checking for bones. Peel the prawns, leaving the tails on.
Ingredients: 600 g cod, hake or pollock fillet · 500 g mussels in the shell · 200 g raw prawns
Fry the vegetables
Heat the olive oil in a large pot (about 5 litres — it has to hold the broth, the mussels, the fish and the prawns) and cook the chopped onion and leek for 8 minutes until soft. Add the garlic, paprika and chilli and fry half a minute.
Ingredients: 3 tbsp olive oil · 1 pcs onion · 1 pcs leek · 4 cloves garlic · 400 g canned tomatoes · 200 ml dry white wine · 700 ml water · 1½ tsp sweet paprika · ½ tsp chilli flakes · 1 pcs bay leaf · 1 pcs thyme sprig · 1½ tsp salt
Paprika and chilli give the Basque character.Make the broth
Pour in the wine, boil 2 minutes, then add the tomatoes, water, bay leaf, thyme and salt. Simmer covered for 15 minutes.
Ingredients: 3 tbsp olive oil · 1 pcs onion · 1 pcs leek · 4 cloves garlic · 400 g canned tomatoes · 200 ml dry white wine · 700 ml water · 1½ tsp sweet paprika · ½ tsp chilli flakes · 1 pcs bay leaf · 1 pcs thyme sprig · 1½ tsp salt
Make the croutons
Slice the baguette, toast the slices in the oven or a pan and rub them with a cut clove of garlic.
Ingredients: ½ pcs baguette · 1 clove garlic for rubbing · ½ bunch parsley
Cook the mussels
Drop the mussels into the boiling broth, cover and cook 4 minutes until they open. Discard any that stay shut. Lift the open ones out into a bowl with a slotted spoon — left in, they would turn rubbery over the next few minutes.
Ingredients: 600 g cod, hake or pollock fillet · 500 g mussels in the shell · 200 g raw prawns
Add fish and prawns
Add the fish pieces, lower the heat and cook without stirring for 2 minutes, then add the prawns and give it 3 minutes more — 5 minutes in all, until the fish is opaque and the prawns pink and curled.
Ingredients: 600 g cod, hake or pollock fillet · 500 g mussels in the shell · 200 g raw prawns
The fish goes in last — five minutes is enough.Serve
Return the mussels to the pot and take it off the heat after half a minute, as soon as they are hot again. Taste and adjust the salt. Ladle into deep bowls so each has mussels, prawns and fish, scatter with parsley and serve with the croutons.
Ingredients: ½ pcs baguette · 1 clove garlic for rubbing · ½ bunch parsley
Before you start
Fish and mussels
The Basques use hake and monkfish. Cod, pollock or hake all work — just make sure the fillet is firm and has not been thawed twice. Live mussels are not always easy to find; instead you can use 200 g of frozen cooked mussel meat, added with the fish for the last 3 minutes.
Stock from heads
If you have fish heads and bones, simmer them for 20 minutes and use that stock instead of water. It is the cheapest way to make the soup taste of the harbour.
Storage
Eat shellfish soup the same day. If any is left, take the mussels out of their shells and keep it in the fridge for up to 24 hours; reheat to hot without boiling.
