Make A Gutsy Soup Thick with Fish, Potatoes, and Shellfish.
Bouillabaisse.....a Delicious combination of seafood stock, and denizens of the sea. Fish of all kinds, mussels, shrimp, clams and more. The hard (long) way is to make your seafood stock from scratch. The easy (short) way is to use a pre made seafood stock which works out wonderfully and by the time you add all that wonderfully fresh seafood, herbs and spices....totally delish!
Bouillabaisse
Serves 8
Ingredients
Bouillon/Seafood Stock*
3/4 cup mild extra-virgin olive oil
8 cloves garlic, crushed
2 large onions, chopped
1 small fennel bulb and stalks and 2 tablespoons of the furry leaves, chopped
2 pounds very ripe plum tomatoes, peeled, seeded and chopped
2 dried Provencale fennel stalks (available at some specialty groceries) or 1 tablespoon fennel seeds
6-7 pounds fish carcasses, heads and tails and/or small bony rockfish, gutted, scaled, and washed well**
14 cups water
2 tablespoon tomato paste, diluted in 3 tablespoons hot water, plus additional as needed
1-2 tablespoons Pastis, such as Pernod or Ricard (anise-flavored spirit)
1/2 teaspoon saffron, toasted and pulverized in a mortar, and steeped in 1/4 cup hot water, plus additional as needed
Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
Though these are not always used in Marseille (originating city), you can enhance this broth with diced carrot, sliced leeks (the white part only), a bay leaf, a few springs of thyme, and a strip of orange zest with the white pith removed.
Bouillabaisse
8 small yellow new potatoes, peeled and halved
2-3 pounds fish filets (such as striped or black bass, monkfish, grouper, tilefish or halibut), cut into 2-inch chunks
2 dozen mussels, scrubbed and debearded
2 dozen clams, scrubbed well and soaked in cold salted water to remove sand
12-15 large shrimp
Finely chopped parsley for garnish
Preparation
Bouillon
Wash the fish carcasses thoroughly, and remove all traces of blood
In a very large stockpot, heat the oil over medium heat and add the garlic, onions, and fennel. Sauté the vegetables until softened, about 7 minutes. Add the fish, cover, and cook until it just turns opaque, about 10 minutes, shaking the pot and turning the fish from time to time. Add the tomatoes and the dried fennel and cook, stirring, for another 5 to 7 minutes. Add the water and bring to a boil over high heat. Let it boil vigorously for 10 minutes, skimming. Season with salt and pepper, and add the tomato paste, pastis, and saffron. Reduce the heat to medium-low and cook, uncovered, until the fish begins to disintegrate, about 30 minutes. Skim thoroughly from time to time. Taste the broth; if it doesn't seem powerful enough, reduce the heat to low, cover and simmer for another 20 to 30 minutes.
Strain the liquid into another large pot, leaving the solids in a colander (you will have to do this in several batches). When the fish is cool enough to handle, pick through the solids, discard the larger pieces of vegetables and the heads, tails and larger bones, anything that's not pureeable from the fish. Also discard the fennel stalks and orange zest, if using. Puree about 4 cups of the soft solids through a food mill, such as a Mulinex, then strain through a fine sieve back into the liquid. If you don't have a food mill, puree the solids in a blender with a little liquid, then strain. Place the pot on medium-high heat and reduce by one-third, about 15 minutes. The bouillon should be beautifully concentrated. If it loses its reddish hue, add a little extra saffron and tomato paste, diluted in water.
Bouillabaisse
Place the potatoes in the bouillon and bring to a simmer over medium heat. Cook until the potatoes are nearly done, about 15 minutes.
Add the firmer fish, such as monkfish and tilefish and poach for 5 minutes. Add the rest of the fish, mussels, and clams, bring the bouillon back to a simmer, and cook until the fish is done and the mussels and clams have opened, about 7 minutes. Don't worry if bits of fish flake off. Add the shrimp and cook until they just turn pink, about 2 minutes. Do not overcook the shrimp.
Plating/Presentation
Ladle into a bowl, garnish with chopped parsley and serve with croutons or a crusty French baguette. Remember to have extra bowls in the center of the table for your friends and family to put the shells in.
*You can use a pre made seafood stock if making one from scratch is not for you. You will need enough to cover the potatoes when cooking them and more when you add the seafood. You will want the seafood to be covered with the stock when cooking.
**For a good strong fish broth you'll need frames, heads, tails, and trimmings from larger fish such as red snapper, sea bass, striped or black bass, grouper, rock cod, or halibut. I also love the wonderfully gelatinous monkfish tails. Call your fishmonger ahead and ask to reserve these for you (red snapper is always a great standby if nothing else is available). If you can find them, try to also add smaller fish such as mullet, porgy, ocean perch, whiting, or sea robin. Feel free to throw in a dozen mussels or a couple of blue crab for extra flavor, but absolutely avoid oily fish, such as salmon or bluefish.
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