by Gloria Bakst
Extraordinary Bouillabaisse: A Great New Year’s Celebratory Dish
Bouillabaisse is a traditional Provençal fish stew. The original bouillabaisse was from the Calanque coast between Marseilles and Toulon. Although called a soup, this is really a main dish, a full meal in itself.
Bouillabaisse was first based on local fish, a "fisherman's" dish, and never contained any expensive ingredients such as lobster. The many regional variations are based on the different local fish, and the color can change from place to place because of the types of fish used.
True to the dish, my bouillabaisse is very flexible in its ingredients. We live in New England and the fish I used was Chilean sea bass, Sable, and Cusk. I prefer to use a firm fish that won’t fall apart in cooking such as Haddock or Cod. Other choices would be Bluefish, monkfish, whiting, and red snapper.
Extraorinary Bouillabaisse
Serves Eight
1/2 cup olive oil
3 pounds of at least 3 different fish fillets, fresh or quick frozen (thaw first)
2 pounds each oysters, clams or mussels
1 pound squid, cut into 3/4 inch rings
1 pound small shrimp or crab and/or 1 cup lobster meat (cut into 2” pieces) or rock lobster tails
1 large onion, thinly sliced
1 shallot, chopped
3 leeks, white part, thinly sliced
1 teaspoon chopped garlic
1 large tomato diced or 1 cup canned diced tomatoes
1 sweet red pepper, diced
4 stalks celery, thinly sliced
2 fennel bulbs, sliced one inch (remove the outer tough shell)
5 springs fresh thyme or 1 teaspoon dried thyme
2 tablespoons fresh chopped flat parsley
1 bay leaf
1 tablespoon fresh chopped dill
Zest of orange
Juice of orange
1/2 teaspoon powdered saffron
2 teaspoons sea salt
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
3 cups clam juice or fish broth
2 Tablespoons lemon juice
3/4 cup white wineFresh bread (sliced and toasted or warmed)
1/2 cup Extra Virgin Olive oil
Sea salt
1/8 teaspoon finely minced jalapeño pepper
2 cloves garlic minced1. Heat 3/4 cup of the olive oil in a large soup pot (8 quart). When hot, add onions, shallots and leeks. Sauté for one minute then add crushed garlic (more or less to taste) and red pepper. Sauté for another couple of minutes and add celery, fennel and tomato. Stir the vegetables with the oil until well coated. Then add another 1/4 cup of olive oil, thyme, bay leaf, dill, parley and orange zest. Cook until the onion is soft and golden but not brown.
2. Add orange juice and 2 cups of water to the vegetable mixture and bring to a boil. Cut fish fillets into 2” pieces. Add to the pot and reduce heat and simmer, uncovered, for about 10 minutes. Gently stir a couple of times.
3. Add oysters, clams or mussels, shrimp, crabmeat or lobster and calamari. Add saffron, salt, pepper, clam juice, lemon juice, and white wine. Bring to a boil and then turn heat down to simmer for 5 minutes.
At serving time, taste and correct the seasoning of the broth, adding a little more salt, pepper or more lemon juice. Serve in bowls with each bowl getting a variety of fish and seafood. Cover with broth and serve.
Please click here to help feed the hungry...
Gloria's recipes and approach to a balanced lifestyle have been published by McGraw Hill in her book, ZonePerfect Cooking Made Easy. Her recipes have appeared in the Weight Watchers' Grilling Cookbook, Weight Watchers Meals in Minutes Cookbooks, The Jewish Vegetarian Year Cookbook, and The Healing the Heart Cookbook.
Gloria’s menus are always healthy and nutritious with an emphasis on flavor, freshness, and sophisticated tastes.
Have questions or comments? . To learn more about Gloria and her nutritional coaching go to her web site at Balanced Nutritional Lifestyles and at Gloria's Personal Chef.
If you like Gloria's recipes, you can buy her book, ZonePerfect Cooking Made Easy by Gloria Bakst at our Kitchen Store Click here .