Seattle Style Bouillabaisse Recipes

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.

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.

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.

TRADITIONAL BOUILLABAISSE

Steps:

• Marinate fish: Stir together saffron and pastis; set aside. Stir together sliced fennel, 1/4 cup fronds, and 2 tablespoons garlic. Divide fennel mixture between two 9-by-13-inch nonreactive baking dishes. Cut fish into uniform portions, each 4 to 5 inches long and 2 to 3 inches wide. Generously season with salt. Put thick pieces in one baking dish and thin ones in the other. (They will be poached in separate batches later.) Pour 2 tablespoons pastis mixture and 1/4 cup oil into each dish; turn fish to coat. Cover; marinate in refrigerator 2 hours, turning once.
• Meanwhile, prepare stock: Cover fish heads and bones with cold water; let soak. Heat remaining 1/4 cups oil in a tall, 10-quart stockpot (that includes a steamer basket for later use) over medium heat until hot but not smoking. Add onion, leeks, celery, chopped fennel, 1 tablespoon salt, and remaining garlic. Cook, stirring, until translucent, about 7 minutes.
• Add tomato paste; stir well. Stir in 2 cups wine, remaining pastis mixture, orange zest, and juice. Tie together bay leaves, parsley, thyme, and rosemary sprigs with kitchen string; add to pot. Stir broth. Bring to a boil.
• Drain and rinse fish heads and bones; add to pot. Pour in 10 cups cold water (liquid should come to within 3 inches of rim of pot). Bring to a boil; let boil for 10 minutes. Skim foam from surface.
• Reduce heat to medium-high. Stir in tomatoes. Cook until stock is slightly reduced, about 20 minutes. Raise heat to high; boil until olive oil binds with liquids, 20 to 30 minutes. Meanwhile, bring marinated fish to room temperature.
• Steam shellfish: Put mussels and shrimp in a large, shallow pot (steaming the shrimp in their shells enhances their flavor). Add 1/2 cup wine and 1/4 cup fennel fronds; cover. Cook over high heat until shrimp are pink and cooked through and mussels are open (check pot frequently after 4 minutes). Transfer cooked shellfish with a slotted spoon to a large bowl (after 7 minutes, discard any mussels that remain closed); reserve pot. Cover bowl with foil.
• Pass stock through a food mill: Using tongs or a slotted spoon, lift out heads and large bones; discard. Discard herbs. In batches, pass stock through a food mill set over the pot of shellfish juices, extracting as much liquid as possible. (If you don't have a food mill, pass stock through a fine sieve, firmly pressing on solids with the back of a ladle.) Discard solids.
• Pass broth through a chinois or a fine sieve into stockpot. Press on solids; discard. Reserve 1/2 cup broth for rouille.
• Cook potatoes: Bring broth to a boil. Place potatoes in steamer basket; submerge in broth. Reduce heat to medium; cook until tender, about 8 minutes. Transfer to a serving platter; cover with foil.
• Cook fish: Return broth to a boil. Place thick fish pieces in basket; submerge in broth. Reduce heat to low. Poach until cooked through, about 6 minutes. Transfer to platter; cover with foil. Return broth to a boil; place thin fish pieces in basket; submerge in broth. Reduce heat to low; poach until cooked through, 4 to 5 minutes. Transfer to platter; pour any juices from platter and shellfish bowl into broth. Cover fish and shellfish with foil.
• Pass broth through a chinois or fine sieve into a serving bowl. Press on solids with a ladle; discard solids.
• Serve: Ladle about 3/4 cup broth into each bowl. Serve with rouille-topped croutons. Follow with fish and potatoes, served with any remaining broth.

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.

LATINA-STYLE BOUILLABAISSE

Steps:

• Cook bacon and 3 tablespoons olive oil in a very large skillet over high heat, stirring frequently for 4 minutes. Add onion and cook for 5 minutes. Add peppers and cook for 5 minutes. Add garlic, habenero, saffron, and sherry. Let reduce by half.
• Add evaporated milk to skillet and continue to let mixture cook until reduced by half. Add chopped cilantro and season with salt and pepper. Working in batches, carefully transfer mixture to a blender and blend until smooth.
• Pour blended mixture into a large saucepan; add seafood stock. Cook over medium-high heat until heated through.
• Heat remaining tablespoon olive oil in a Dutch oven over medium heat. Add clams, scallops, and jumbo shrimp; cook for 2 minutes. Add extra-large shrimp, snapper, mussels, and heated seafood stock mixture. Cook until shrimp is pink and shellfish have opened. Season with lime juice, salt, and pepper. Serve immediately garnished with cilantro sprigs.