Best Bouillabaisse À La Marseillaise Recipes

BOUILLABAISSE À LA MARSEILLAISE

Steps:

• In a large pot over medium heat, add oil and when hot, throw in fennel, leeks, onions and garlic; stir and cook for 5 minutes. Add tomatoes, tomato paste, orange peels, thyme, dill, saffron and cayenne pepper; stir well and cook for 2 minutes. Pour in white wine and scrape the bottom of the pot; cook for 5 minutes.
• Pour in boiling water and add fish heads/carcass/shrimp shells, add parsley, bay leaf, sea salt and freshly ground black pepper; bring to a full boil; cook for 5 minutes. Reduce heat to medium-low and simmer for 45 minutes.
• Remove fish heads, bones and shells; discard. Remove sprigs of thyme as well. Using a hand blender, purée the mixture until smooth. Strain the mixture through a fine sieve over a large pot.
• Bring heat to medium-high and broth starts to boil, add firmer fish first before adding the others. When they are all cooked, transfer them to a serving plate. Add shellfish starting with the ones that take the longest to cook. Transfer shellfish to the serving plate along with the fish and transfer broth to a soup tureen.
• In shallow bowls, place a mix of fish and shellfish, ladle the broth and serve with crusty bread. To add a nice finishing touch, place fennel fronds on top. Make 6-8 servings.
• NOTE: If not using fresh fish, use 4 cups clam juice and 6 cups water BUT no salt.

BOUILLABAISSE

Steps:

• Make croutons:
• Put oven rack in middle position and preheat oven to 250°F.
• Arrange bread slices in 1 layer in a shallow baking pan and brush both sides with oil. Bake until crisp, about 30 minutes. Rub 1 side of each toast with a cut side of garlic.
• Make soup:
• Plunge lobster headfirst into a 6- to 8-quart pot of boiling water, then cook, covered, 2 minutes from time lobster enters water. Transfer lobster with tongs to a colander and let stand until cool enough to handle. Discard hot water in pot. Put lobster in a shallow baking pan. Twist off claws with knuckles from body, then crack claws with a mallet or rolling pin and separate claws from knuckles. Halve body and tail lengthwise through shell with kitchen shears, then cut crosswise through shell into 2-inch pieces. Reserve lobster juices that accumulate in baking pan.
• Cook tomatoes, onion, and garlic in oil in cleaned 6- to 8-quart pot over moderate heat, stirring occasionally, until onion is softened, 5 to 7 minutes. Meanwhile, peel potatoes and cut into 1/2-inch cubes. Stir potatoes into tomatoes with fennel fronds, bay leaf, saffron, sea salt, and pepper. Add stock and bring to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer, covered, until potatoes are almost tender, 8 to 10 minutes.
• Add thicker pieces of fish and cockles to soup and simmer, covered, 2 minutes. Stir in mussels, shrimp, lobster, including juices, and remaining fish and simmer, covered, until they are just cooked through and mussels open wide, about 5 minutes.
• Stir 3 tablespoons broth from soup into rouille until blended.
• Arrange 2 croutons in each of 6 to 8 deep soup bowls. Carefully transfer fish and shellfish from soup to croutons with a slotted spoon, then ladle some broth with vegetables over seafood.
• Top each serving with 1 teaspoon rouille and serve remainder on the side.