pam@cepu.uucp (Pamela McGarvey) (03/20/87)
BOUILLABAISSE(M) USENET Cookbook BOUILLABAISSE(M)
BOUILLABAISSE
BOUILLABAISSE - Marseille style fish soup
A friend and I had been talking about the glories of bouil-
labaisse for the past year and we finally decided to use New
Year's Eve as an excuse to fish rather than continuing to
cut bait, ad nauseum. The following recipes are a combina-
tion of several derived from old Gourmets, Julia Child, the
Playboy Gourmet Cookbook, and "gee, that sounds good-let's
add it."
The accompanying Rouille is a garlic-hot pepper mayonnaise
condiment traditional to Marseille-style fish soup.
INGREDIENTS (Serves 4-8)
ROUILLE
6 cloves garlic
1 tsp salt
12 large basil leaves
1/3 cup chopped pimiento
1/3 cup bread crumbs
1 egg yolk
1 cup olive oil
hot pepper sauce
COURT BOUILLION
8-10 cups water
2 cups dry white wine
1 onion (coarsely chopped)
1 large carrot (cut into large pieces)
1 leek (white section only, cut into large pieces)
1 stalk
5 lb fish trimmings (fish frames, heads, tails)
BOUILLABAISSE
2 small live lobsters (each about 1 1/4 lb)
3 dozen mussels
3 dozen small hard-shelled clams
2 lb medium shrimp
3 lb firm-fleshed fish (sea bass, red snapper, cod,
etc.)
1/2 cup olive oil
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 leek (white part only, julienned)
1 cup grated carrot
1 cup onion finely chopped
1 cup fennel, roughly chopped
1 tsp sage
1 strip orange peel (1x3 inches)
1 pinch saffron
1 bay leaf
1 cup parsley, roughly chopped
1 cup dry white wine
salt and pepper to taste
PROCEDURE (ROUILLE)
(1) In a food processor fitted with the cutting blade,
pur'e all ingredients (except the olive oil and
hot pepper sauce) until finely minced.
(2) With the motor running, add the olive oil through
the feed tube in as thin a continuous stream as
possible. Stop occasionally to scrape down the
sides.
(3) Add hot pepper sauce to taste. The rouille should
be very spicy.
PROCEDURE (COURT BOUILLION)
(1) Bring water to boil and add all ingredients.
(2) Return to boil, then reduce heat to simmer. Skim
scum from top while simmering.
(3) Simmer for 30 minutes.
(4) Remove all solids and strain through double layer
of cheesecloth.
PROCEDURE (BOUILLABAISSE)
(1) Cook lobsters in boiling water for 15 minutes,
until bright red.
(2) Remove all meat from tail and claws. Cut into
chunks and set aside.
(3) Scrub mussels and clams well to remove sand.
Debeard mussels by pulling black fibers from
shell.
(4) Steam mussels and clams over 1 inch of water for
about 10 minutes, until shells open.
(5) Discard any unopened mussels or clams. Remove one
shell from each mussel and clam, leaving meat in
other shell.
(6) Strain clam/mussel broth through double layer of
cheese cloth and reserve 3 cups.
(7) Shell the shrimp.
(8) In a large skillet, heat olive oil. Saut' onion,
leek, carrot, fennel, garlic, sage, saffron, and
orange peel until onions are soft and golden.
(9) In a large pot, bring to a boil 8-10 cups of court
bouillon, reserved clam/mussel broth, and 2 cups
wine.
(10) Add saut'ed vegetables, bay leaf, parsley and wine
and bring to simmer.
(11) Add salt and pepper to taste
(12) Cut fish into large chunks. Add fish and shrimp
and simmer 8-10 minutes.
(13) Add lobster, mussels and clams and simmer 2
minutes.
(14) Serve in soup plates over garlic toast.
NOTES
Rouille is traditionally made with a mortar and pestle but I
prefer to use a food processor-it's just too much work oth-
erwise. Pass the rouille as a condiment. Usually 1 Tbsp per
serving is sufficient-this stuff is the essence of garlic
and hot pepper.
If you can't get fish trimmings for the court bouillon, add
bottled clam juice and shrimp and lobster shells.
To be truly authentic, our bouillabaisse should have
included eel, but my friend was a bit squeamish about that
so we left it out. Basically, any combination of shellfish
and firm-fleshed fish can be used with the more variety the
better. I dislike using crab since it flakes so easily and
is lost in the broth. If you can't get live lobsters, sub-
stitute frozen lobster tails but be careful not to overcook.
Use saffron threads, rather than saffron powder which tends
to be adulterated with safflower and not the same thing at
all. Be conservative with the saffron-a little goes a long
way and can give the dish a medicinal taste.
We preceded our dinner with herbed leek and proscuitto
tartlets served with champagne. Dinner included bouilla-
baisse; a hearts-of-palm salad with pimiento and greek
olives and vinagrette dressing; lots of crusty french bread
to soak up the broth; a dry white wine (Duckhorn Sauvignon
Blanc '84); and my friend's mother's sponge cake with
whipped cream icing, fresh raspberries and raspberry sauce,
accompanied by Asti Spumante.
RATING
Difficulty: moderate to hard. Time: 2 hours. Precision:
approximate measurement OK.
CONTRIBUTOR
Pamela McGarvey
UCLA Comprehensive Epilepsy Program, Los Angeles, California, USA
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