Photo: Positively, Absolutely, Not Real Bouillabaisse Recipe
Ingredients
Fish Stock:
- 1 pound raw fish heads, bones, tail, and lobster tail shell
- 4 whole fresh bay leaves
- 1 teaspoon coarse sea salt
- 1/2 teaspoon whole black peppercorns
- 6 cups water
Stew:
- 1/2 cup olive oil, divided
- 6 ounces onion, coarsely chopped
- 3 ounces fennel bulb, coarsely chopped
- 1 teaspoon coarse sea salt, divided
- 1/2 cup dry white wine
- 1 (14 1/2-ounce) can diced tomatoes, undrained
- 1/4 cup fresh flat-leaf parsley, chopped
- 1 (3-inch) piece orange peel, optional
- 1/16 teaspoon saffron
- 8 ounces firm fish fillets, such as farmed cobia or wild striped bass (1 or 2 types), skin and bones removed, cut into 1-inch pieces, at room temperature
- 8 ounces flaky fish fillets, such as black cod, wild halibut, or black rockfish (1 or 2 types), skin and bones removed, cut into 1-inch pieces, at room temperature
- 2 cloves garlic, crushed
- 1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
- 8 ounces mussels, cleaned and beards trimmed, at room temperature
- 1 large raw lobster tail, shell removed and meat cut into 1-inch pieces, at room temperature
To Serve:
- 1 baguette, sliced
- 1 clove garlic, cut in half
- 1 recipe Rouille, recipe follows, optional
Directions
For the fish stock: Rinse the fish heads and place in a tall 6-quart pot with tails, bones, lobster shell, bay leaves, 1 teaspoon sea salt, black peppercorns, and water. Place over high heat, cover, and bring to a boil. Decrease the heat to maintain a bare simmer and cook for 25 minutes. Strain, discard solids, and set the stock aside.
To make the stew: Place 1/4 cup olive oil in a clean 6-quart pot and set over medium heat. When the oil shimmers, add the onions, fennel, and 1/2 teaspoon sea salt. Saute until semi-translucent, about 10 minutes, stirring frequently. Deglaze the pan with the wine and scrape any bits from the bottom of the pan. Add the reserved fish stock, tomatoes, parsley, orange peel and saffron, if desired. Place over high heat, cover, and bring to a boil. Decrease the heat to maintain a simmer and cook for 15 minutes. Increase the heat to high. Add the remaining 1/4 cup olive oil, the remaining 1/2 teaspoon sea salt, fish, garlic, and cayenne pepper. Boil rapidly, uncovered, for 5 to 7 minutes, stirring occasionally. Remove the pot from the heat, add the mussels and lobster, cover, and let stand until the fish is cooked through and the mussels open, 2 to 4 minutes. Discard any unopened mussels.
To serve: Set the broiler to high. Lightly rub the baguette slices on both sides with the garlic. Place the prepared bread slices on a half sheet pan and broil, 1 inch away from the broiler, for 1 to 2 minutes. Turn the slices over and broil for another 1 to 2 minutes. Top with Rouille, if desired, and serve with fish stew.
Rouille:
- 1 large red bell pepper
- 3 large cloves garlic, peeled
- 1 fresh red chile, stem removed and seeded
- 1 teaspoon freshly squeezed lemon juice
- 1/4 teaspoon coarse sea salt
- 1/2 cup olive oil
Cook the bell pepper over a gas burner set to high, turning every few minutes, until the skin blackens and is thoroughly charred. Remove the pepper to a metal mixing bowl, cover with a spare pot lid, and cool for 5 minutes. Remove the blackened skin from the pepper by rubbing with a clean kitchen towel. Pull out the stem and seed cluster and discard along with the skin.
Place the roasted and skinned pepper, garlic, chile, lemon juice, and salt in the bowl of a mini-food processor. Process until smooth, 1 to 2 minutes. Stop and scrape down the side of the bowl once or twice. With the food processor running, slowly drizzle in the olive oil until thick. Serve with fish stew.
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By daliandy42_12553978
New York, NY
on May 08, 2012
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Hmmm, when is the last time I had a can of soup? Thanks to food television and the internets, I don't rememeber.
This by far tops the list of soups I've made over the past few years. Followed by a Gullah recipe for chicken and dumplings, the of course Caldo de pollo which can be served several ways. But this is absolutely perfect as is, BUT due to the cost,(Since the only place I can find all the proper ingredients in one place is Chelsea Market, very pricey my wife lets me rarely make it. She calls it the hundred dollar bowl of soup. So I Cannot wait to make it this Sunday for her and my mother in law for Mother's Day.
What a great recipe, thanks for posting it....
By laurenmsullivan
San Diego, CA
on January 05, 2012
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I wanted to make this dish very badly after seeing the episode, as a big fan of both French food and Alton. As for the result, it's not that we didn't like it. We loved it, even without the addition of any pepper, which I found perplexing but surprisingly didn't miss it when eating the soup. But rounding up the ingredients was like herding cats. Good luck finding fish heads and tails readily available. Even in the heart of San Diego, I struggled to find any without ordering in advance from someplace or driving all the way to the other side of the city. Mussels were easy to find but apparently need to be purchased about a minute before dumping into the pot. I bought two different batches, both of which died before making the soup and hours after purchase. I kept them cold, refrigerator, wet paper, the whole nine yards. I was just done with the whole thing by the time we ate, and while it was delicious, it was a hassle to find it all.
By MissAdventures
on December 18, 2011
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Not too difficult to execute and a nice change from our regular recipe. I skipped the Rouille and did quick garlic toast under the broiler which we served in the bottom of the bowl and again in a large bowl on the side. We used available fresh fish/seafood: cod, tilapia, scallops, mussels, and lobster tail. Guests love it!
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