Bouillabaisse

Several people have asked me if that picture above is mine.   It is.  It is a Bouillabaisse I made a few months ago.  It was pretty good.  I adapted it from The Joy of Cooking.  I highly recommend getting this book.  The bible of cooking techniques.

First, make a stock.  You could use fish stock, shrimp stock, chicken stock or clam stock.

I used shrimp stock.  Shrimp stock is easy because we eat a good amount of shrimp.  When we peel the shrimp, we save the raw shells and heads by freezing in a zip lock bag.  Shrimp stock should be used right away – doesn’t keep well for more than a day or so.

Shrimp stock:
makes about 5 cups

Heat 2 tablespoons olive oil in a large stock pot

Add and cook until bright pink:
4 cups of raw shrimp shells and heads (or just shells).  Make sure you’ve rinsed and drained the shells.
1 onion – thin sliced
1 carrot – thin sliced
1 celery sick – thin sliced

Add cold water to cover
1 bay leaf
crushed black pepper (i use 2 teaspoons – but to to taste)

Bring to boil and reduce heat to simmer for ~20 min – do not overcook.

Strain with strainer – press down on shells, etc to get all the liquid. Put aside.

Bouillabaisse:
4-6 servings

In soup pot, heat
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 tablespoon butter

Add and cook, until tender, but not browned:
1 leek – thin sliced
1 small fennel – thin sliced
1 celery stock – thin sliced
1 bay leaf
1 star anise
1/2 teaspoon of kosher salt

Add and stir for 2 min:
3 cloves of garlic – minced (this prevents burning)

Add and reduce heat and stir for 1 min:
1 tablespoon tomato paste

Add and bring to gentle roll and cook for 3 min:
1/2 cup of white wine

Add:
All the shrimp stock made above
1 1/2 cups of canned tomatoes – with juice
rep pepper to taste
3/4 teaspoon kosher salt

Bring to boil, reduce to simmer and cover for 20 min.

Add clams – whatever kind you like
Bring back to simmer for a few minutes

Add fish, but into 1 1/2 inch chunks- I used salmon and haddock
Simmer for 1 min

Add shrimp
Simmer for 1 min

You can also use scallops or almost any other kind of seafood.

Serve with bread.
Rough chop parsley and dill (from my garden) as garnish.

Enjoy!

If you try my recipes, please let me know how they turn out – also, suggestions welcomed!

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