Provençal Fish Stew aka Bouillabaisse

Name: Provençal Fish Stew aka Bouillabaisse
Prep time: 30 min
Cook time: 1 h
Total time: 1 h 30 min
Cuisine: European, Mediterranean, French
Ingredients: 120 ml olive oil; 2 cloves garlic; 1/4 tsp saffron; 1/8 tsp cayenne pepper; 1/4 tsp Spanish sweet smoked paprika; 1 each egg yolk; 1 tsp kosher salt; 2 each French baguettes (thinly sliced and toasted in the oven); 8 each lobster tail; 16 each prawns (whole, large); 1 each monkfish (whole); 1 each sole/dover fish (whole); 1 each sea bass (whole); 2 lb mussels (or little neck clams, or both); 16 each scallops; 2 each leeks (or white onions); 8 cloves garlic; 1 cup celery root (or stalks); 1 cup carrots; 1 each fennel (bulb and tops, large); 1 cup tomatoes; 8 each potatoes (young, red or yellow); 1 tsp saffron; 1 cup white wine; 2 tbsp Pastis (or Pernod, or brandy); 5 sprigs thyme; 5 sprigs parsley; 1 each orange (peeled zest and juice); 1 tsp parsley (chopped for garnish); q tsp fennel greens (chopped for garnish)

11 steps

Prep:30minCook:1h

Do we dare to make Provençal-style fish stew far away from France? What ingredients can bring us closer to the taste and texture, and which ones can be substituted? What flavors and cooking methods make the Bouillabaisse? The more variety for the fish and seafood, the better. Other important ingredients are fennel (bulb and tops), orange (juice and peel), saffron, and tomatoes (for the color), Pernod or Pastis (an anise-flavored apéritif from France). Breaking the recipe into two stages and making fish stock in advance is a smart idea because once you have it reserved, everything else can be a matter of minutes.

Updated at: Thu, 17 Aug 2023 12:03:24 GMT

Nutrition balance score

Great

Glycemic Index

Moderate

Glycemic Load

High

Nutrition per serving

Calories760.4 kcal (38%)

Total Fat21 g (30%)

Carbs80.9 g (31%)

Sugars9.9 g (11%)

Protein55.3 g (111%)

Sodium1309.6 mg (65%)

Fiber7.4 g (26%)

% Daily Values based on a 2,000 calorie diet

Instructions

to make rouille

Step 1

For small amounts, use mortar and pestle, for a large — small food processor or hand-held blender. Make garlic paste with kosher salt. Add peppers, saffron, egg yolk, and process into a thick paste.

Step 2

Drizzle in the olive oil a little at a time and process until the rouille is smooth. Transfer to a serving container and refrigerate.

to make stock

Step 3

Wash, peel if needed, and dice vegetables — the white part of leeks, celery root or stalks, carrots, fennel bulb. Cut green tops of leeks and fennel into 3-4" long pieces and tie them with thyme and parsley, making a few bunches. Peel garlic cloves. Wash and chop tomatoes or use canned diced tomatoes with juice. Thinly peel the zest of an orange, squeeze and reserve its juice. Measure Pernod/Pastis.

Step 4

Prep the seafood. Refrigerate fish fillets, crustation tails, and mollusks for later. Break seafood heads, carcasses, shells, etc., into smaller pieces and have them ready.

Step 5

Soak saffron in white wine.

Step 6

Heat 1/3" deep olive oil in a large pot. Add crustacean heads and shells and cook until bright orange for 5 minutes. Add root vegetables and saute for another 5 minutes until sweet and aromatic. Add tomatoes and cook for another 5 minutes. Flambe with Pernod/Pastis. Add fish heads and bones and fill the pot with wine and cold water to cover solids plus 2". Add spices, herbs, green tops bunches, and orange zest and juice. Bring to boil, reduce the heat to medium-low and let simmer for 45 minutes.

Step 7

Remove spices, green bunches, and orange zest and strain the stock. You can blend it first to extract more flavor and make it thicker. You can store the stock refrigerated or frozen until ready to make the fish stew.

to make and serve fish stew

Step 8

Wash and peel potatoes. You have an option to cook and serve them in a separate dish or with the seafood. If serving separately, slice them into 1/4" rounds. Otherwise, dice them. In a pot, cover potatoes with seafood stock, bring to simmer, and cook for about 15 minutes until done if serving separately or for 10 minutes if plating with seafood. *As an option, reserve some diced vegetables (leeks, fennel, carrots, and celery) for this step. They will add more texture to the stew.

Step 9

If serving lobster tails, clams, or mussels, cook them until done and reserve.

Step 10

Add bite-size fish pieces in order of how long they will take to cook. Monkfish and sea bass will take a few minutes longer than the rest of the fish, so start with them. When ready to serve, taste and adjust seasoning. Garnish with freshly chopped parsley and fennel fronds or other herbs.

Step 11

Traditionally, French restaurants serve bouillabaisse not plated, letting the guests assemble their dishes right before eating — large dishes with cooked seafood, fish stock, rouille, and baguette toasts. Each eater places some seafood and potatoes in a bowl, adds some stock, spreads some rouille on a couple of toasts, and places them on top of the stock to soak the flavorful essence of bouillabaisse. Other restaurants prefer serving it as a dinner that consists of 3-4 plated dishes featuring different kinds of seafood and making sure all components are distributed evenly. Either way, this fish stew is fantastic! Bon appetite!

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