Gilbert Le Cozes Bouillabaisse Recipes

GILBERT LE COZE'S BOUILLABAISSE

Steps:

• To make the fish soup, place all the fish bones and scraps, along with the crabs, in a large piece of cheesecloth and tie securely.
• Heat the oil in a 10- to 12-quart pot. Add the fennel, leeks, onion, shallots and garlic along with the eel and sea robin fillets and cook slowly, until the vegetables are tender. Add the wine. Place the bag of fish bones and the bouquet garni in the pot and add the tomatoes, tomato paste and water to completely cover the fish bones.
• Season lightly with cayenne pepper and salt. Bring to a simmer and cook very slowly for two and a half hours.
• Remove the bag of fish bones and the bouquet garni and drain well. Pass the soup mixture through a food mill, add the saffron, place in a large saucepan and simmer for 45 minutes to reduce it further. Adjust the seasonings. Strain through several thicknesses of cheesecloth. There should be between two and a half and three quarts. This soup can be prepared in advance and frozen.
• To make the stew, heat two cups of the fish soup in a saucepan and cook the potatoes in it until they are tender. Drain the potatoes and wrap in foil to keep warm.
• Transfer the fish soup used for the potatoes to a three-quart saucepan and place the mussels and clams in it. Steam the mussels and clams, covered, until they just open. Remove from the heat and keep covered.
• Place the remaining fish soup in a saucepan just large enough to hold all the rest of the seafood. Heat to just barely simmering, add the remaining seafood and cook until just done, removing each type of seafood to a warm dish as it is cooked.
• To serve the bouillabaisse, divide the potato rounds among four shallow, warmed soup plates. Arrange the cooked fish over the potatoes, then divide the mussels and clams, with the top shells removed, among the four plates.
• Stir some of the soup used to poach the seafood into the rouille, then wisk the rouille back into the soup. Bring to barely simmering, then pour over the seafood in the plates and serve with croutons.

BOUILLABAISSE

Steps:

• Cut the cleaned fish fillets into medium sized pieces. In a large non-reactive bowl, whisk together the marinade ingredients. Add the pieces of fish and whole shrimp so that all the seafood is coated with the mixture. Cover and refrigerate for 1 hour.
• For the Stock/Fumet: In a large stockpot over low-medium flame, heat the oil and butter. Saute the leek, onion, garlic, and fennel for 5 minutes until tender. Deglaze with Pernod, cooking for 5 minutes to allow the alcohol to evaporate. Place the bouquet garni in the stockpot tied to the handle for easy removal. Add the cold water, wine, canned tomatoes and fish parts. Season with saffron and pepper. Simmer gently for 10 minutes, stirring to mingle flavors. Allow the stock to slowly simmer. Skim and discard the fish foam that rises to the surface. Do not boil! If the stock boils, these impurities will be incorporated into the liquid. Simmer for 15 minutes, turn off heat and let steep for 15 minutes. Pass the fumet through a strainer lined with cheesecloth.
• For the Broth: Heat the olive oil in a stockpot over medium heat. Saute the onion, garlic, parsley and orange zest. Add the clams, mussels, Pernod and wine. Steam open, about 2 minutes. Stir in fennel, leek, tomatoes, bay leaf and fumet. Season with saffron, salt and pepper, Add the fish pieces to the broth. Simmer for 3 minutes until the fish is opaque. Add tomato paste and adjust seasonings.
• For the Rouille: Broil the tomato and bell pepper, turning to blacken all sides. Place the roasted pepper in a paper bag, close it, and let it "sweat" for 5 minutes so it is easier to peel the skin. Remove from bag, peel the skin and discard the seeds and stem. Peel and cut the tomato, squeeze out the seeds. In a food processor, puree the potato, roasted pepper, tomato, mayonnaise, fumet, garlic, saffron and cayenne. Season with sea salt and pepper. Cover and refrigerate until needed.
• For the Croutons: Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Lightly brush the baguette slices with olive oil and bake on a cookie sheet until crisp. Set aside.
• Ladle the soup into individual serving bowls. Spoon the rouille over the croutons and place in bowl. Garnish with parsley and basil.

BRITISH COLUMBIA BOUILLABAISSE

Steps:

• For the garlic oil and confit puree: Place the garlic and oil in a small heavy-bottomed saucepot. Place over medium-high heat and bring it up to a simmer, stirring occasionally. Reduce the heat to low and poach slowly until garlic cloves are very soft, about 1 hour.
• Strain the garlic out of the oil, reserving the garlic and oil separately.
• Place the strained garlic into a food processor and puree until silky smooth, about 1 minute. For a richer, smoother puree, add some garlic oil back in and process to emulsify. Adjust seasoning to taste.
• For the soup base: Preheat a large soup pot over medium-high heat. Add the onions and 1/2 cup of the reserved garlic oil and sweat, stirring frequently, until translucent, about 2 minutes. Add the fennel and cook, 1 minute more. Add the garlic, red and yellow peppers, bay leaves and saffron, stirring. Cover and cook for 2 minutes. Remove the cover and add the diced tomatoes and additional stock if using (if you desire a lighter soup). Bring back to a boil, turn the heat down to medium-low and simmer, stirring occasionally, 10 to 15 minutes, then season to taste.
• For the bouillabaisse: Bring the soup base to a boil, then stir in 3 tablespoons of the reserved garlic confit puree and add the clams. Cover and cook until the first clamshell opens, 20 to 30 seconds. Add mussels, then stir the pot, cover and cook 20 more seconds.
• When the soup is boiling again and more shellfish are beginning to open, add the remaining cubed fin fish. Stir, cover and cook for 30 seconds, then turn off the heat and let sit for about a minute with out opening the lid.
• Adjust the seasoning and warm some soup bowls. Divide the fish evenly among the bowls, then pour over the remaining liquid. Finish with a 1 tablespoon of the garlic confit puree and sprinkle with the freshly chopped parsley. This is great with crusty bread.

LAUREN'S BOUILLABAISSE

Steps:

• Place red pepper and mayonnaise in a food processor; cover and process until smooth. Refrigerate until serving., For toasts, rub 1 side of each bread slice with garlic; discard garlic. Cut bread slices in half. Place on an ungreased baking sheet. Bake at 400 for 4-5 minutes on each side or until lightly browned., In a stockpot, saute onion in oil until tender. Add garlic; cook 1 minute longer. Reduce heat; stir in tomatoes and saffron. Add the potatoes, fennel, broth, clam juice and tarragon. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat; simmer, uncovered, for 10-12 minutes or until potatoes are almost tender., Add the clams, mussels, snapper and shrimp. Cook, stirring occasionally, for 10-15 minutes or until clams and mussels open and fish flakes easily with a fork. Discard any unopened clams or mussels. Spoon into bowls; sprinkle with parsley. Spread pepper mayo over toasts; serve with bouillabaisse.

THE LADY'S BOUILLABAISSE

Steps:

• Wash and scrub the mussels in cold water. Bring 2 cups of water to a boil in a large, heavy pot. Add the mussels and cover the pot. Steam for 6 to 8 minutes, or until the mussels open. Discard any mussels that didn't open. Remove from the heat and set aside. Cut the fish into 1-inch thick slices. Heat the oil in a large pot. Add the garlic, onions, tomatoes, fennel, saffron, salt, and pepper. Add the boiling water and clam juice. Bring to a rolling boil, add the crabs and fish, and continue to boil for 6 to 8 minutes. Add the mussels and their broth to the pot along with the shrimp, and boil for an additional 5 minutes.
• Slice the French bread, butter it, and toast lightly. Serve the bouillabaisse in large individual bowls lined with toasted French bread; pile in the seafood and ladle the broth over it. Top each bowl with 1 tablespoon of butter. Pass the remaining bread at the table. If you like a spicier soup you may add a couple of whole hot peppers to the pot at the start of cooking.

BRASSERIE'S LE COZE'S FRENCH ONION SOUP

Steps:

• In a large stockpot over low heat, melt 2 tablespoons butter. Add onions and cook, stirring occasionally, until very soft and golden brown, about 1 hour. Add the white wine and reduce by half. Add the cream and reduce by half.
• Meanwhile, in a small saucepan, add sugar and moisten with water and lemon juice. Cook until the sugar melts and becomes a light caramel color. Remove from the heat immediately. Do not allow it to overcook, or it will become bitter. Cool briefly and add the vinegar to the caramel and whisk to combine (if mixture hardens, set it over low heat to liquefy again). Set aside.
• In a separate saucepan over low heat, melt the remaining butter and add the flour. Whisk for 1 to 2 minutes or until flour is absorbed but mixture is still blond-colored. Set aside.
• In a separate saucepan, bring the broth to a boil. Add the flour roux to the stock and cook to combine. Puree with an immersion blender or in a food processor to smooth it to a gravy-like consistency. Add this mixture (called a veloute) to the onions after the cream is reduced. Add the sugar-vinegar mixture (called a gastrique), stirring to incorporate.
• Season to taste with salt and pepper and serve. The restaurant serves the soup with grated Gruyere cheese, croutons and green onions, but it is filling enough to serve alone.
• Note: To properly caramelize the onions, allow yourself about one hour. Don't rush it by using too high heat or you could burn the onions. I use a heavy enamel pot for this step.

CRAIG CLAIBORNE'S BOUILLABAISSE

Steps:

• Heat one-third cup of the olive oil in a large saucepan and add the onions, leeks, fennel, garlic and celery. Cook, stirring without browning, about five minutes.
• Add the hot red pepper flakes, saffron, tomatoes, salt, pepper, bay leaf, thyme and wine. Bring to a boil and cook 30 minutes. Pour the sauce into a wide casserole and allow it to cool to room temperature.
• Leave the sea robin and sculpin fillets whole. Cut the conger and monkfish into 1 1/2-inch squares. Add all the fish to the tomato sauce. Stir to coat all the pieces. At this point it is best to refrigerate the mixture for two or three hours, but if you do not have the time, the soup can be cooked immediately. When ready, add the fish broth to the tomato mixture and bring to a boil. Let simmer about two minutes.
• Add the mussels and stir gently so they are covered with liquid. Cover closely and let simmer until the mussels open, about five minutes.
• Stir in the shrimp and let cook about one minute. Sprinkle with parsley and dribble the remaining one- quarter cup of oil over all. Baste the top of the solids briefly with the liquid. Gently stir in the Pernod or Ricard until blended.
• Serve in hot soup bowls with a crouton or two on top. Add the sauce to the top of the toast. Serve the remaining croutons on the side.