Best Seattle Style Bouillabaisse Recipes

BOUILLABAISSE

Steps:

• Make the rouille: Puree the mayonnaise, roasted red peppers, olive oil, lemon juice, garlic and a pinch of salt in a blender until smooth. Transfer to a small bowl; refrigerate until ready to serve.
• Prepare the bouillabaisse: Grate the tomato flesh on the large holes of a box grater down to the skins; reserve the skins separately. Peel and devein the shrimp, reserving the shells and tails for the broth; clean and debeard the mussels. Refrigerate the seafood until ready to use.
• Make the broth: Heat 3 tablespoons olive oil in a large pot over medium-high heat. Add the shrimp shells and tails and cook, stirring, until bright red, about 3 minutes. Stir in the tomato paste until incorporated, about 30 seconds. Add the clam juice, 4 cups water, the reserved tomato skins, the orange zest and 1/4 cup of the sliced fennel. Bring to a boil, then reduce the heat to medium; simmer until the liquid is reduced to about 4 cups, 12 to 15 minutes. Strain the broth through a fine-mesh sieve set over a bowl, pressing on the solids to extract the liquid; reserve the broth.
• Wipe out the pot and heat the remaining 3 tablespoons olive oil over medium heat. Add the remaining fennel, the shallot, garlic and a pinch of salt; partially cover and cook, stirring occasionally, until the fennel begins to soften, about 5 minutes. Add the reserved grated tomato flesh and cook, stirring, until slightly thickened, about 2 minutes. Stir in the saffron, then add the wine and simmer until the liquid is reduced by about two-thirds, about 4 minutes. Add the reserved broth and return to a simmer.
• Add the mussels to the pot; cover and cook 4 minutes. Add any thick pieces of fish and cook, covered, 2 minutes. Add the remaining fish and the shrimp and cook, covered, until the mussels open and the fish and shrimp are just cooked through, 3 to 4 more minutes. (Discard any mussels that do not open.) Season with salt and pepper.
• Spread the baguette with the rouille and serve with the bouillabaisse. Sprinkle with parsley.

COMMANDER'S PALACE CREOLE BOUILLABAISSE

Steps:

• To make the broth base: Heat olive oil in a large pot; saute the garlic until golden.
• Add the crab and shrimp shells; saute for ten minutes.
• Add the rest of the vegetables and cook until tender, about 20 mintues.
• Add stock or water and wine, herbs and saffron; simmer for an hour.
• Puree in batches and strain.
• To make the bouillabaisse: In a large pan, heat 1/4 cup of olive oil over medium heat and saute garlic until golden.
• Add mussels, shrimp, seafood sausage and fish; cook for about five minutes.
• Pour in the whie wine and cook, scraping the bottom of the pan to remove any browned bits.
• Add 8 cups of the broth and bring to a boil.
• In a medium pan, heat 1/4 cup olive oil and saute the vegetables until tender.
• Add oysters and crab meat to the broth and seafood mixture.
• Add sauteed vegetables to the mixture and season to taste with salt and pepper.

BOUILLABAISSE

Steps:

• Heat the olive oil in a large saucepan, and add the onions, leeks, chopped tomatoes, and garlic. Cook and stir over a low heat for a few minutes until all vegetables are soft.
• Stir in the fennel, thyme, bay leaf, and orange zest. Add shellfish and boiling water; stir to combine. Season to taste with salt and black pepper. Turn up the heat to high, and boil for about 3 minutes to allow the oil and water to combine.
• Add fish, and reduce the heat to medium. Continue cooking for 12 to 15 minutes, or until fish is cooked. The fish should be opaque and tender, but still firm. Fish should not be falling apart.
• Taste the bouillabaisse and adjust the seasoning. Stir in saffron, and then pour soup into a warmed tureen or soup dishes. Serve immediately.

ISLAND-STYLE BOUILLABAISSE

Steps:

• For the epis: Put the the oil, the garlic, cloves, scallions, thyme, habanero, lime juice, onion, parsley, salt and pepper in a blender and puree until it reaches a thick consistency.
• For the bouillabaisse: Add 2 tablespoons of the epis to the whole fish and let marinate.
• Clean the mussels by soaking in cold water and removing the beard from each mussel. Clean the clams by brushing with a soft brush to remove all the grit and sand. Then let them soak in cold salted water until ready to cook.
• Add 1 cup of the oil to a large pot over medium heat and saute the garlic, leeks, onions, turmeric and ginger until soft, stirring occasionally, 8 to 10 minutes. Season with salt and pepper. Then add the dried shrimp, shrimp paste, tomato paste, thyme and half of the remaining epis and cook until fragrant, about 4 minutes. Deglaze with half of the wine, the coconut water and fish stock, add the Scotch bonnet chile and simmer on low heat until reduced by thirty percent. Turn off the heat, transfer the contents to a high-powered blender and blend until smooth. Pass through a sieve. Add the stew back to the pot and let simmer on low.
• While stew is simmering, heat a grill pan over medium-high heat to grill the whole fish. Place the fish on the grill and cook on one side until golden, about 7 minutes. Flip and cook the other side until golden and cooked through, about 7 more minutes. Remove from the heat.
• While the fish is on the grill, in another large pot heat the remaining tablespoon oil over medium heat with the remaining epis and the shallots. Cook until soft, 8 to 10 minutes. Add the clams and deglaze with the remaining wine. Ladle some stew into the pan and cover until the clams are fully cooked and open, 5 to 8 minutes. Discard any that don't open.
• Add the mussels to the simmering stew and cook until they open, 5 to 8 minutes. Discard any that don't open.
• Plate the grilled fish on a large platter. Arrange the clams and mussels in the stew around the fish.