Cotriade — France

Cotriade is a fish soup from Brittany, on France's northwestern coast, built around whatever fish the day's catch provides rather than a single fixed species. It belongs to a wider family of coastal fish soups found along many shorelines, where cooks turn modest or unsold fish into a warming, communal dish. It is associated above all with Morbihan and the fishing communities along the Breton coast, where it was historically a meal for fishermen's households, made with the fish that were too small or too plentiful to sell at market. Firmer fish such as conger eel are cooked alongside more delicate ones like mackerel or sardines, together with potatoes and onions. The fish are cleaned and cut into pieces, sorted by how long they need to cook. Onions are softened in butter, potatoes are added with water or fish stock and a bouquet garni, and the pot is simmered until the potatoes are nearly done. The sturdier fish go in first, the softer ones only for the last few minutes, so nothing overcooks; a dash of wine vinegar is stirred in at the end. The broth is commonly ladled over slices of bread rubbed with garlic, while the fish and potatoes are served alongside or as a second course. The exact mix of fish, the thickness of the broth, and whether the bread is toasted or fried, vary from one cook and one stretch of coast to another, without any single combination being set as the reference.