Best Sarahs Delicious Bouillabaisse Recipes

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.

BOUILLABAISSE

Steps:

• Prepare a medium-hot fire (350°F) in a wood-fired oven, cooker, or grill.
• Combine the water and stock in a stockpot and bring to a simmer over coals or on the floor of a wood-fired oven. Shell the shrimp and put the shells in the stockpot. Set aside and keep warm.
• Heat the olive oil in a Dutch oven over medium-high heat on a grate over a grill or on the floor of a wood-fired oven. Add the onion, celery, and carrots and sauté for 5 minutes. Add the garlic and sauté for 2 minutes. Remove the shells from the warm broth and add three-quarters of the liquid to the sautéed vegetables. Add the wine, salt, pepper, saffron, thyme, and bay leaves; bring to a boil. Move to a cooler area of the oven and simmer for 15 minutes; discard the bay leaves. Return to a boil, add the fish, and simmer for 5 minutes. Add the remaining stock, the scallops, and mussels and cook for 2 minutes. Add the shrimp and cook for another 3 minutes. Taste and adjust the seasoning. Bring to a low boil for 1 minute.
• Discard any unopened mussels. Stir in the parsley and serve in bowls.

BOUILLABAISSE WITH ORANGE ZEST, FENNEL AND SAFFRON

Steps:

• Put olive oil in a casserole or large saucepan over medium heat. Add onions and cook, stirring occasionally, until softened, about 5 minutes. Add zest, fennel, saffron and chili, and cook for about a minute. Add tomatoes, and turn heat to medium-high. When mixture boils, reduce heat to medium, and cook 10 to 15 minutes, stirring occasionally, until it becomes sauce-like.
• Add monkfish and raise heat to medium-high. When mixture boils, reduce heat to medium-low and cook, stirring occasionally, until the monkfish begins to lose its rubbery quality, 10 minutes or so.
• Add clams, raise heat to high, and stir; when mixture boils, reduce heat to low, cover, and cook until clams begin to open, 5 to 10 minutes. Add shrimp and white fish, stir, and cover. Cook, stirring gently once or twice, until white fish is just about done (a thin-bladed knife will pierce it with little resistance), about 5 minutes. (If mixture is very thick, add a cup or so of hot water.) Stir in garlic, and cook 1 minute more. Stir in parsley and serve, with crusty bread.

BOUILLABAISSE

Steps:

• Prepare fish Follow the instructions on pages 120-121 to fillet the fish (or have the fishmonger do this, giving you the head and bones); then skin the fillet (see note). You should end up with 3 to 4 pounds of fish fillets and 2 to 3 pounds of bones and heads. Cut the bones crosswise into 4-inch pieces and the fish into 2- to 3-inch pieces (make them uniform so they cook evenly). For the marinade, stir together 2 tablespoons Pernod, 1/2 teaspoon salt, and 1/4 teaspoon pepper; pour over the fish, turn the pieces to coat, then cover and refrigerate for 1 to 3 hours, turning the fish again halfway through. (Do not marinate longer than 3 hours or the texture of the fish will start to deteriorate.)
• Make stock Combine the fish bones and heads, leeks, celery, fennel, orange zest, tomatoes, remaining 2 tablespoons Pernod, wine, bay leaf, and the water in a large stockpot. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat so the liquid is at a simmer, and cook for 30 minutes, skimming the foam from the surface with a ladle every so often. Strain the stock by pouring it through a cheesecloth-lined sieve, pressing on the solids with the ladle to extract as much liquid as possible from fish heads and bones (this will add body to the stock). Discard the solids, and strain the stock again (using clean cheesecloth) to remove any remaining solids, without pressing this time. Set the stock aside in a clean pot. Reserve 1/2 cup stock for rouille.
• Make rouille and croutons Ladle the reserved stock over the bread cubes and let soak for 10 minutes, then squeeze the bread with your hands (save the broth in case you need to thin the rouille). Puree garlic in a food processor or a blender, then add bread, saffron, cayenne, salt, and egg yolk, and puree until combined. With the motor running, add the oil in a slow, steady stream, mixing until the sauce is emulsified. If it seems too thick-it should be spreadable like mayonnaise-you can thin it with some of the reserved stock. Meanwhile, heat the oven to 350°F. Brush the tops of the croutons lightly with oil, and toast until lightly browned, about 10 minutes.
• Finish stew When you are about ready to serve, return the stock to the stove and add the saffron and potatoes. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat, and cook at a rapid simmer for 10 minutes. Continue simmering until the potatoes are fork-tender, about 5 minutes. Add the fish from the marinade to the pot. Cook over low heat (the stock should be at a gentle simmer) until the fish is just cooked through and opaque throughout, about 5 minutes. Remove each piece of fish as soon as it is ready. Taste, and season broth with salt and pepper and a splash (or two) of Pernod, if desired.
• Serve Ladle broth and potatoes into bowls, and divide fish evenly among servings. Spread some of the croutons with rouille for floating on top, and serve the remaining croutons and rouille on the side. If desired, you can stir some rouille into the broth at the table.
• SKINNING A FILLET
• Lay fillet skin side down. Holding the tail of the fish in one hand, insert a slicing knife with a flexible blade between the skin and flesh. Keeping the knife at a 45-degree angle and cutting toward the skin, slice from tail to head to remove skin; you may need to move the knife from side to side slightly as you cut. You might also need to stop every now and then to get a firmer grip on the slippery skin (or hold with a paper towel).
• Bouillabaise Tips
• To make the stock ahead of time, wait to buy the fish you will use in the stew and ask your fishmonger for scraps of similar fish to use in the stock. Then freeze the stock in tightly sealed containers for up to 2 months and thaw in the refrigerator before proceeding. Or make the stock as instructed (with the fish that will be served in the stew), let cool, and refrigerate overnight in a covered container.
• If you're making the stock ahead of time, you can also make the rouille (since it calls for some of the stock, or you could use water instead). Cover and refrigerate overnight, then let it come to room temperature before serving.
• Equipment
• You'll need to use a pot that is large enough to hold all of the ingredients, with about 3 inches to spare on top. (If you're not sure, pile the raw ingredients together in the pot before cooking.)
• To strain the stock, line a fine sieve with cheesecloth; you'll have to do this step twice, each time with clean cheesecloth. Or pass the stock mixture through a food mill fitted with a coarse disk, then through a cheesecloth-lined sieve.
• Ingredients
• It's not so important which type of fish you choose, but rather that the fish is as fresh as can be, and that you have a variety, anywhere from four to seven types. Preferably the variety will include contrasting tastes (mild and briny) and textures (firm and flaky). The ones listed here are suggestions; buy whatever is fresh at your local fish market.
• Traditional recipes for bouillabaisse do not contain any shellfish, but now many versions do. Cockles, which are similar to small clams, cherrystones, or littlenecks, would make a lovely addition, as would mussels.
• Pernod, an anise-flavored apéritif, reinforces the flavor of the fennel. Pastis is equally appropriate.

SIMPLE BOUILLABAISSE

Steps:

• In a large saucepan, heat the oil over medium-high heat. Add the tomatoes, onion, carrot, saffron, bay leaf and parsley. Peel and crush 1 garlic clove and add it to the pan. Add the fish, shrimp and lemon juice, season with salt and pepper and boil for 10 minutes. Add the fish broth and wine, bring to a rapid simmer and cook until the fish is just cooked through. Adjust the seasoning, adding more saffron, lemon juice, salt and pepper as desired.
• Rub the toasts with the remaining peeled garlic clove. Set a toast in the bottom of each of 6 bowls and ladle the soup on top.