Marmite dieppoise – Normandy fish and seafood soup

Wash the leek thoroughly between its layers, then thinly slice it and the celery. Finely chop the shallot and set the parsley aside for finishing. Cut the cod and monkfish into pieces about 3 cm across. Keep the fish and raw shrimp in the refrigerator until needed. Scrub and debeard the mussels, then sort through them; discard damaged ones and any open ones that do not close when tapped. Weigh out 800 g cleaned live mussels with their shells.

Bring all the weighed wine to a boil in a wide pot with a capacity of about 4 liters. Add the mussels, cover and cook over fairly high heat for about 5 minutes, shaking the pot once or twice, until the shells open. Discard any that stay closed. Transfer the open mussels to a bowl, keeping all the liquid in the pot and any that collects in the bowl.

Remove all the meat from the open shells and discard the shells. Cover the meat and refrigerate it while you prepare the soup base. Pour the collected liquid through a very fine-mesh sieve or a strainer lined with cheesecloth to catch sand and sediment. Keep all the strained liquid; do not rinse the mussel meat and do not pour away its juices. Rinse any sediment out of the pot and dry it.

Melt all the butter in the same pot over medium heat. Add the shallot, leek and celery. Cook gently for about 5 minutes, stirring often, until the vegetables soften and turn translucent. Do not brown them deeply, so the base stays pale and delicate. Leave all the butter and vegetable juices in the pot.

Sprinkle all the flour over the vegetables and stir for a minute. Gradually pour in all the strained mussel liquid, stirring to blend in the flour without lumps. Add all the weighed water. Bring to a gentle simmer, then cook gently for about 10 minutes, until the vegetables are tender and the broth has thickened slightly. Do not strain anything out and do not pour any liquid away.

Add the monkfish to the gently simmering base and cook for 3 minutes. Add the cod, gently lower it into the liquid and cook for another 4 minutes. Then add the raw shrimp and cook for about another 3–4 minutes. Avoid a rolling boil and vigorous stirring so the pieces of fish do not break up. These times are for pieces about 3 cm across; make sure the fish and shrimp are fully cooked, extending the cooking briefly if needed.

Reduce the heat. Pour in all the cream and add all the shelled mussel meat with any juice that has collected during storage. Heat gently for about 2 minutes, until everything is hot, without bringing the cream to a hard boil. Add all the salt, pepper and finely chopped parsley, then stir carefully. Take the pot off the stove.

Divide the fish, shrimp, mussel meat and vegetables among four deep plates or bowls. Ladle in all the creamy broth, dividing it evenly among the servings. Serve straight after cooking, while the fish is delicate and the soup is hot. Do not leave the finished dish sitting for a long time in a warm pot.