Spring is awakening, the days are getting longer and Easter is just around the corner. However, before we hunt for coloured eggs and break our fast on Easter Sunday, we look back at one of the quietest, yet also most traditional days of the year: Good Friday.
For many, this day is inextricably linked with giving up meat. Instead, fish takes centre stage in the culinary action. It is a wonderful tradition that invites us to enjoy more mindfully and focus on the essentials.
A feast for fish lovers (and everyone else)
Here at the Winter restaurant and country hotel, we are also preparing intensively for this special day. Naturally, we have put together a fine selection of creative fish dishes for you. And those who prefer to be happily meat-free will surely find just what they are looking for among our vegetarian creations. We also have a few individual meat dishes available for those who would still like to eat meat.
Yet if we are honest, there is one dish on Good Friday that many of our regular guests look forward to weeks in advance. A dish that smells so good, tastes so delicious and has so much soul that it has almost established a tradition of its own with us: Our legendary bouillabaisse.
More than just a fish soup: A love letter to the sea
Our bouillabaisse isn't simply a dish on the menu; it is a culinary highlight that we celebrate with special devotion every year at Easter. Why is it so popular? Perhaps because it strikes the perfect balance: it is rich and warming (since April never knows what it wants), yet thanks to the fish and fine herbs, it is still light enough for Lent.
As soon as the big pot in the kitchen is simmering and the scent of saffron, fennel, garlic and fresh seafood wafts through the room, we know: Easter is starting now. We serve it classically with rouille (a spicy garlic mayonnaise), crusty toasted bread and a selection of the best fish fillets and shellfish the market has to offer. It is a dish for sharing, for enjoying and for being happy.
A look into history: From poor man's food to a gourmet classic
But where does this wonderful dish actually come from? The history of bouillabaisse takes us to the sunny south of France, more precisely to the port city of Marseille.
Originally, bouillabaisse was anything but a luxury dish. It was the daily meal of simple fishermen. When they returned from their hard catch in the morning, they sorted out the prime fish for sale. Whatever was left over – the bycatch, the small, bony fish that could not be sold – went into a large cauldron right on the beach.
Toplled up with sea water, seasoned with garlic, fennel, olive oil and Herbes de Provence, everything was brought to a vigorous boil. By the way, the name is derived from the Provençal words flea (cooking) and lower turn down (the heat).
From the harbour to Michelin-starred cuisine
Only over time, as the dish also became popular with wealthier citizens and tourists, was the recipe refined. Finer types of fish such as scorpionfish, monkfish or John Dory found their way into the pot, and expensive saffron provided the golden-yellow colour. Thus, a simple meal of leftovers evolved into one of the best-known and most appreciated classics of French cuisine.
Enjoy the tradition with us
We bow to this rich history and cook our bouillabaisse with the same respect for the ingredients as the fishermen of Marseille – just with slightly finer fish.
We cordially invite you to spend this Good Friday with us. Let yourself be enchanted by the aroma of our bouillabaisse and enjoy a piece of living tradition in a cosy atmosphere.
