Breton Fish Soup

Breton Fish Soup from the Port of Quiberon

The Breton Fish Soup from La Quiberonnaise is a robust Soupe de Poissons from Brittany, slowly reduced from fish, tomato, and white wine. No powder, no bouillon cubes, just a ready-made soup that only requires your bread and a spoonful of rouille.

Breton Fish Soup is the ready-to-serve Soupe de Poissons from the Conserverie La Quiberonnaise in the Breton town of Quiberon. Fresh fish is sautéed with tomato paste, garlic, and onions, deglazed with white wine, and patiently reduced into a brown-red soup. It is considered one of the best of its kind—Brittany in a bowl, ready in just a few minutes on the stove.

Just upon opening it, it smells of the harbor and the south at once: of fish, tomato, and a warm cloud of saffron. In the spoon, it is deep and savory, carried by thyme, rosemary, and bay leaf, with a hint of fennel and the subtle heat of cayenne. Its consistency is creamy, almost like a stew, and makes you want to dive in with a spoon immediately. This is what Brittany tastes like.

Fish, saffron, and a hint of garlic

The Soupe de Poissons tastes of long simmering, not of haste, and that is precisely what gives it its brown-red color and bold foundation.

Hour after hour, the fish draws its aromas into the pot, the tomato paste adds depth, and the white wine provides a subtle acidity. Saffron, parsley, and bay leaf round everything off until simple ingredients become a dense, velvety stock. In Brittany, the Soupe de Poissons was always the dish born from whatever the nets brought in besides the main catch—thrifty, clever, and full of flavor.

Traditionally with croutons & rouille

Classically, the Breton Fish Soup is served with crispy croutons, a spoonful of saffron mayonnaise—the rouille—and grated cheese. The rouille melts on the warm bread, the cheese stretches into fine threads, and with every spoonful, the soup becomes a little ritual.

Gently warmed in the pot, without letting it boil, and with plenty of bread on the side, it truly comes into its own. If you like, you can dilute it with an equal amount of water to turn a 425 ml tin into two bowls. With an addition of fresh fish, some vegetables, or small potato cubes, it becomes a complete meal.

As a starter for guests, serve it in small bowls alongside a chilled glass of Muscadet and, as a pre-meal greeting, the classic sardines in olive oil from the same producer.

A Breton cannery since 1921

At the fishing port of the Quiberon Peninsula, the Conserverie La Quiberonnaise has been hand-packing the daily catch since 1921. It was founded by Henriette Jourdan, who once passed her sardine recipe on to her husband.

Today, her grandsons Bernard and Thierry Jourdan run the family business with the same patience as their grandmother. 95 percent of the fish is caught seasonally along the Atlantic coast and processed within 48 hours. The same patience used to age the house's vintage sardines in oil goes into this soup. In 2015, the company received the "Entreprise du Patrimoine Vivant" (Living Heritage Company) label for its artisanal craft.

This expertise is the origin of this soup, one of the finest specialties from La Quiberonnaise. You can find it with us alongside many other fish preserves from Brittany.

Baguette with rouille floating on top

Slowly warmed and sprinkled with some grated Gruyère as soon as it begins to steam, it becomes even more well-rounded. A few toasted baguette slices, spread with rouille, float on top. An opened tin keeps in the refrigerator for two to three days, if there is any left at all. Bon appétit.