Anns Christmas Eve Bouillabaisse Recipes

SIMPLE BOUILLABAISSE

Steps:

• In a large saucepan, heat the oil over medium-high heat. Add the tomatoes, onion, carrot, saffron, bay leaf and parsley. Peel and crush 1 garlic clove and add it to the pan. Add the fish, shrimp and lemon juice, season with salt and pepper and boil for 10 minutes. Add the fish broth and wine, bring to a rapid simmer and cook until the fish is just cooked through. Adjust the seasoning, adding more saffron, lemon juice, salt and pepper as desired.
• Rub the toasts with the remaining peeled garlic clove. Set a toast in the bottom of each of 6 bowls and ladle the soup on top.

BOUILLABAISSE

Steps:

• Make the rouille: Puree the mayonnaise, roasted red peppers, olive oil, lemon juice, garlic and a pinch of salt in a blender until smooth. Transfer to a small bowl; refrigerate until ready to serve.
• Prepare the bouillabaisse: Grate the tomato flesh on the large holes of a box grater down to the skins; reserve the skins separately. Peel and devein the shrimp, reserving the shells and tails for the broth; clean and debeard the mussels. Refrigerate the seafood until ready to use.
• Make the broth: Heat 3 tablespoons olive oil in a large pot over medium-high heat. Add the shrimp shells and tails and cook, stirring, until bright red, about 3 minutes. Stir in the tomato paste until incorporated, about 30 seconds. Add the clam juice, 4 cups water, the reserved tomato skins, the orange zest and 1/4 cup of the sliced fennel. Bring to a boil, then reduce the heat to medium; simmer until the liquid is reduced to about 4 cups, 12 to 15 minutes. Strain the broth through a fine-mesh sieve set over a bowl, pressing on the solids to extract the liquid; reserve the broth.
• Wipe out the pot and heat the remaining 3 tablespoons olive oil over medium heat. Add the remaining fennel, the shallot, garlic and a pinch of salt; partially cover and cook, stirring occasionally, until the fennel begins to soften, about 5 minutes. Add the reserved grated tomato flesh and cook, stirring, until slightly thickened, about 2 minutes. Stir in the saffron, then add the wine and simmer until the liquid is reduced by about two-thirds, about 4 minutes. Add the reserved broth and return to a simmer.
• Add the mussels to the pot; cover and cook 4 minutes. Add any thick pieces of fish and cook, covered, 2 minutes. Add the remaining fish and the shrimp and cook, covered, until the mussels open and the fish and shrimp are just cooked through, 3 to 4 more minutes. (Discard any mussels that do not open.) Season with salt and pepper.
• Spread the baguette with the rouille and serve with the bouillabaisse. Sprinkle with parsley.

NEW ORLEANS-STYLE BOUILLABAISSE

Steps:

• For the broth: Heat the oil in a medium pot over medium-high heat. Add the shrimp heads and shells and saute a few minutes until starting to brown. Add the celery, bay leaf, leeks, onions and peppercorns; stir for a couple of minutes. Add the herb bundle and cover with the stock, then add the saffron and bring to a simmer. Let bubble gently for about 30 minutes. Strain and reserve.
• For the spicy garlic aioli: Whisk together the egg yolk, garlic, Dijon and lemon juice in a small bowl. Whisking constantly, slowly stream in the oil to emulsify. Season with salt, pepper and hot sauce.
• For the bouillabaisse: Heat 1 tablespoon of the oil in a medium to large Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Add the andouille and cook until browned and crisp. Remove from the pan and set aside.
• Reduce the heat to medium and add the remaining tablespoon olive oil to the Dutch oven. Add the garlic, celery, onions, fennel and bell peppers. Let sweat for 8 to 10 minutes, adding the tomatoes during the last few minutes of cooking. Raise the heat to medium-high, add the beer and bring to a simmer. Let reduce for a few minutes, then add 2 to 3 cups of the shrimp stock and bring to a simmer. Add the redfish and shrimp and let cook through, 3 to 4 minutes. Remove from the heat and stir in the crabmeat to heat through. Season with Old Bay and hot sauce and add the andouille back to the pot.
• To serve: Spread the aioli on the toasted baguette slices and divide among four shallow bowls. To each bowl, add three pieces of fish, three pieces of shrimp, some crab and some Andouille. Pour in some of the broth, making sure to include the vegetables in the broth. Garnish with the reserved fennel fronds.

BOUILLABAISSE WITH ORANGE ZEST, FENNEL AND SAFFRON

Steps:

• Put olive oil in a casserole or large saucepan over medium heat. Add onions and cook, stirring occasionally, until softened, about 5 minutes. Add zest, fennel, saffron and chili, and cook for about a minute. Add tomatoes, and turn heat to medium-high. When mixture boils, reduce heat to medium, and cook 10 to 15 minutes, stirring occasionally, until it becomes sauce-like.
• Add monkfish and raise heat to medium-high. When mixture boils, reduce heat to medium-low and cook, stirring occasionally, until the monkfish begins to lose its rubbery quality, 10 minutes or so.
• Add clams, raise heat to high, and stir; when mixture boils, reduce heat to low, cover, and cook until clams begin to open, 5 to 10 minutes. Add shrimp and white fish, stir, and cover. Cook, stirring gently once or twice, until white fish is just about done (a thin-bladed knife will pierce it with little resistance), about 5 minutes. (If mixture is very thick, add a cup or so of hot water.) Stir in garlic, and cook 1 minute more. Stir in parsley and serve, with crusty bread.

BOUILLABAISSE

Steps:

• In a large mixing bowl, combine fish, pastis, two pinches of saffron and 1/2 cup olive oil. Season lightly with salt and pepper, and mix well without breaking up fish. Cover, and refrigerate for at least three hours.
• In a large heavy-bottomed stockpot, combine fish stock and remaining saffron. Place over high heat, and bring to a rapid boil. Add potatoes, and cook for 7 minutes. Add largest, firmest pieces of fish from the bowl, and cook for 2 minutes. Add remaining pieces of fish, and continue to boil until potatoes are tender, about 10 more minutes. Season with salt, pepper and cayenne to taste.
• Prepare the rouille: Crush 2 to 3 cloves garlic, and use a mortar and pestle to mash with a pinch of cayenne pepper. Dunk hunk of bread into 2 to 3 tablespoons hot fish stock, squeeze out liquid, and add to mortar. Mash well.
• Take 2 to 3 slices potato from Bouillabaisse, and mash with pestle into a thick paste. Gradually add remaining olive oil, drop by drop, mashing mixture in a circular motion until thick and smooth. (If mixture breaks up, add a teaspoon or two of hot fish stock or a little more soup-soaked bread.) Season with salt and pepper to taste.
• To serve, remove fish and potatoes from soup, and arrange on a large serving platter. Ladle some soup over fish, and keep warm. Rub slices of bread with 2 cloves garlic, and place in a dish on the table along with bowl of rouille. Have diners dab croutons with rouille and place them in soup plates. Ladle soup over croutons, and place a serving of fish and potatoes into each plate.

BOUILLABAISSE

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
• Wash and clean the seafood. Cut seafood, snapper and monkfish into large pieces and place each type of seafood into individual baking pans.
• Add the butter and olive oil to a large pot. Add garlic, onion, carrot, leek, and celery, and sweat until vegetables are soft. Deglaze the mixture with white wine and reduce the volume by half. Add cold water to the pot to cover the vegetables and heat mixture. Add the fish stock, chopped tomatoes, tomato paste, saffron threads, and freshly crushed black pepper to taste. Simmer for 90 minutes total and skim regularly. After 45 minutes add potatoes. After 90 minutes strain sauce, return potatoes and liquid to the pot and simmer until desired consistency. Correct seasoning to taste.
• Cover each type of seafood in its individual baking pan with the sauce. Bake for 10 minutes or until seafood is cooked through and the mussels have opened. Discard any unopened mussels. Add seafood and sauce from each pan to bowls. Serve immediately.