Bouillabaisse In Three Courses Recipes

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.

BOUILLABAISSE

Steps:

• Remove gills and any traces of blood from fish heads. Thoroughly wash fish bones; cut them into lengths that will fit inside 12-quart stockpot. Set aside.
• Cut leeks into quarters lengthwise; slice 1/4 inch thick. Place in a small bowl of cold water; let soak 5 to 10 minutes to remove dirt and sand. Drain; set aside.
• Make a bouquet garni: Cut dark-green leek leaves into two 5-inch lengths. Arrange tarragon and parsley sprigs in center of one leaf. Place other leaf on top to enclose tarragon; tie with kitchen string.
• Roast seeds: Heat a small skillet over medium heat until very warm. Add coriander, fennel, and cumin seeds to warm skillet. Cook, shaking pan or stirring frequently, until toasted and fragrant, 2 to 3 minutes. Let seeds cool in a bowl.
• Strain whole tomatoes over small bowl, reserving liquid. Remove seeds; place tomatoes in bowl with liquid. Set aside.
• Heat oil in a 12-quart stockpot over medium heat; add reserved sliced leeks, carrots, celery, onions, garlic, and paprika. Cook until onions become translucent, about 5 minutes. Add reserved whole tomatoes and their liquid, sun-dried tomatoes, saffron, turmeric, harissa, roasted coriander, fennel, and cumin seeds. Stir to combine.
• Raise heat to high, add reserved fish heads and bones, and cook, stirring frequently, until bones are opaque, about 5 minutes. Add fennel branches, orange peel, and bouquet garni. Add water to just cover bones, about 4 quarts. Bring to a boil; skim foam from the surface. Reduce heat; simmer, uncovered, 25 minutes. Pour stock through a sieve into a large bowl; discard solids. Return liquid to pot.
• Meanwhile, bring a large stockpot of cold water to a rolling boil. Quickly add lobsters; cook about 12 minutes. Remove pan from heat. Drain lobsters; submerge in cold water to stop cooking. Drain again.
• Place 1 cup reserved stock in a large saucepan. Add 1 cup water. Bring to a boil; add mussels. Cover; cook until mussels open, 5 to 7 minutes. Remove from heat. Discard any mussels that do not open.
• Meanwhile, place stockpot with stock over medium-high heat; bring to a boil. Reduce heat to simmer. Season with salt and pepper. Add potatoes; cook until just tender, about 20 minutes. Add fish fillets; cook until opaque and cooked through, 3 to 5 minutes more. Remove tails and claws from lobsters (discard bodies or reserve for other use). Crack open claws and tail; add with mussels to pot; cook just long enough to warm. Serve with rouille and toasted French bread rounds.

BOUILLABAISSE

Steps:

• To make the croutons heat oven to 200C/180C fan/gas 6. Lay the slices of bread on a flat baking tray in a single layer, drizzle with olive oil and bake for 15 mins until golden and crisp. Set aside - can be made a day ahead and kept in an airtight container.
• Use a layer of the green part of the leek to wrap around and make a herb bundle with the thyme, bay, parsley stalks, orange peel and chilli. Tie everything together with kitchen string and set aside.
• Heat the oil in a very large casserole dish or stock pot and throw in the onion, sliced leek and fennel and cook for about 10 mins until softened. Stir through the garlic and cook for 2 mins more, then add the herb bundle, tomato purée, star anise, Pernod if using, chopped tomatoes and saffron. Simmer and stir for a minute or two then pour over the fish stock. Season with salt and pepper, bring to a simmer, then add the piece of potato. Bubble everything gently for 30 mins until you have a thin tomatoey soup. When that piece of potato is on the brink of collapse, fish it out and set aside to make the rouille.
• While the broth is simmering make the rouille by crushing the garlic, chilli and saffron with a pinch of salt in a mortar with a pestle. Mash in the cooked potato to make a sticky paste then whisk in the egg yolk and, very gradually, the olive oil until you make a mayonnaise-like sauce. Stir in the lemon juice and set aside.
• Once the chunky tomato broth has cooked you have two options: for a rustic bouillabaisse, simply poach your fish in it along with the mussels, if you're using (just until they open) and serve. For a refined version, remove the herb bundle and star anise. Using a handheld or table-top blender, blitz the soup until smooth. Pass the soup through a sieve into a large, clean pan and bring to a gentle simmer. Starting with the densest fish, add the chunks to the broth and cook for 1 min before adding the next type. With the fish we used, the order was: monkfish, John Dory, grey mullet, snapper. When all the fish is in, scatter over the mussels, if using, and simmer everything for about 5 mins until just cooked and the mussels have opened.
• Use a slotted spoon to carefully scoop the fish and mussels out onto a warmed serving platter, moisten with just a little broth and scatter over the chopped parsley. Bring everything to the table. Some people eat it as two courses, serving the broth with croutons and rouille first, then the fish spooned into the same bowl. Others simply serve it as a fish stew. Whichever way you choose the rouille is there to be stirred into the broth to thicken and give it a kick.