Bouillabaisse Recipe
This is a classic bouillabaisse recipe that comes from Marseille, France. Bouillabaisse is a Provençal seafood stew that is absolutely delicious and it’s one of the most popular French dishes.
The use of the cooked potato is very traditional and gives a rustic texture and a great elasticity to the sauce (rouille). In fact, the starch from the cooked potato acts as a natural emulsifier and will help during the process.
Alternatively, you can prepare a simpler recipe with no egg yolks. In that case, the “rouille” (i.e. sauce) can be made with 2 cups mayonnaise, 6 tablespoons of Tabasco Garlic Pepper Sauce, 1 tablespoon of fresh lemon juice, 2 garlic cloves and 1 teaspoon of saffron.
Enjoy!
Bouillabaisse
Ingredients
- 3 pounds sea bass cut in 12 small portions
- 3 pounds red snapper cut in 12 small portions
- 12 snow crab legs
- 12 tiny Florida lobster tail
- olive oil extra virgin
- 3 garlic cloves
- 2 fennel bulb
- 1 pound potatoes peeled, turned and blanched
- baguette stale
- 2 garlic clove
- 1/2 lemon juice only
- 3 tablespoons Tabasco Chipotle pepper sauce
- 1 tablespoon saffron
- 2 cups white wine dry
- 3.5 quarts water
- 1/2 teaspoon Provence herbs
- 1/2 teaspoon fennel seeds
- 1/4 cup Pastis or any other Mediterranean, anise based liquor
ROUILLE
- 1 cup olive oil extra virgin
- 2 egg yolks
- 2 clove garlic
- 1 tablespoon lemon juice
- 1 small potatoes cooked and peeled
- 1 teaspoon saffron
- 6 tablespoons Tabasco garlic pepper
Instructions
Broth
- Make a broth with the snow crab legs, lobster shell, garlic, Tabasco chipotle pepper sauce, saffron, salt, wine, COLD water, Provence herbs, fennel seeds and Pastis. Bring to a boil and simmer 20 minutes. Turn off the heat and let infuse the flavors 20 minutes. You should end up with 4 quarts of clear, saffron color broth. Reserve the crab legs for future use.
Bouillabaisse
- Toss all the fish, lobster, fennel and potatoes in olive oil, salt and pepper, and garlic. Marinate for 3 hours (ideally overnight).
Rouille
- In a mortar, mash garlic and saffron with a pestle until you obtain a paste. Add the cooked potato and mash. Add and beat the eggs until very thick and lemon colored. Add salt.
- Beating constantly, add olive oil VERY SLOWLY — literally drop by drop. After about half the oil has been added and the mixture is thickening, add lemon juice. Then continue adding olive oil slowly, beating until a thick emulsion (mayonnaise texture) is formed. At the end, add Tabasco garlic pepper sauce.
Assembly
- Make crostini with stale baguette. Put the broth in a large sautoir and simmer gently. Delicately add the fish and lobster, fennel, potatoes and poach for about 10 minutes, depending on firmness of fish. Add crab legs at the end to reheat. Serve at once in a large soup bowl. Decorate with sprig of fennel, and a crostini with rouille.
Notes
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