French Fish Soup with Rouille

For the soup, rinse the seafood under cold running water. Discard any open clams or mussels.  Add to a pot with enough boiling salted water to barely cover the seafood and cook for 2 to 3 minutes, until the clams or mussels have opened. Discard any that have not opened. Drain through a sieve drain and pull the meat from the shells.

Peel the onion and cut into fine dice. Rinse and trim the celery root and fennel and cut into slices or strips. In a saucepan, heat the oil in a saucepan and add the vegetables and cook in the hot oil. Add the vermouth and fish stock. Simmer gently for 10 to 15 minutes.

Rinse and trim the scallions and slice on an angle into rings. Rinse the tomatoes and cut into quarters. Peel the garlic and chop finely. Rinse the thyme sprigs and shake dry. Add the scallions, tomatoes, thyme sprigs, and garlic to the soup with the saffron powder and fennel seeds. Bring the soup to a simmer again.

Rinse the shrimp with cold water. Cut the fish fillets into cubes. Add the shrimp and fish to the soup with the clam or mussel meat. Simmer for 2 to 3 minutes. Remove the thyme sprigs.