Food Network: The Lady's Bouillabaisse

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The Lady's Bouillabaisse
Recipe courtesy Paula Deen, 2007

Ingredients
1 pound mussels
2 pounds firm fresh fish fillets, such as grouper or striped bass
1/3 cup olive oil
1 1/2 tablespoons finely chopped garlic
3/4 cups chopped onions
5 Roma tomatoes, peeled and sliced, or 1 cup canned Italian tomatoes
1 teaspoon fennel seed
Pinch saffron
1 tablespoon, plus 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1 1/2 teaspoons freshly ground black pepper
2 tablespoons butter plus more, for the bread and plating

2 1/2 cups boiling water
1/2 (8-ounce) bottle clam juice
4 crab halves, cut in 1/2
1 pound unpeeled shrimp
1 loaf French bread

Instructions
Wash and scrub the mussels in cold water.

Bring 2 cups of water to a boil in a large heavy pot. Add the mussels and cover
the pot.* Steam for 6 to 8 minutes or until the mussels open. Discard any mussels
that didn't open. Remove from the heat and set aside.

Cut the fish into 1-inch thick slices.

Heat the oil in a large pot. Add the garlic, onions, tomatoes, fennel, saffron,
salt, and pepper. Add the mussel broth to the pot and 2 tablespoons of butter. Add
the boiling water and clam juice. Bring to a rolling boil, add the crabs and fish,
and continue to boil for 6 to 8 minutes. Add the mussels along with the shrimp,
and boil for an additional 5 minutes.

Slice the French bread, butter it, and toast lightly. Serve the bouillabaisse in
large individual bowls lined with toasted French bread; pile in the seafood and
ladle the broth over it. Top each bowl with 1 tablespoon of butter. Pass the
remaining bread at the table.

*Cook's Note: If you like a spicier soup you may add a couple of whole hot peppers
to the pot at the start of cooking.