How to Make Bouillabaisse

Felipe Correa shows how to prepare Bouillabaisse, which is a French fish stew. He also presents making croutons, as well as traditional rouille, which is made of bread crumbs, olive oil, garlic, saffron and cayenne pepper.

Bouillabaisse Recipe

Yield: Makes 6 to 8 servings
Active Time: 1 1/4 hr
Total Time: 1 1/2 hr

For Croutons

12 to 16 (1/2-inch-thick) baguette slices
3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
1 garlic clove, halved

For Soup

1 (1- to 1 1/4 -lb) live lobster
2 large tomatoes, peeled and coarsely chopped
1 large onion, chopped
4 garlic cloves, chopped
1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil
1 lb boiling potatoes
1/3 cup finely chopped fennel fronds (sometimes called anise)
1 Turkish or 1/2 California bay leaf
1/4 teaspoon crumbled saffron threads
1 1/2 tablespoons coarse sea salt
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
9 cups white fish stock (or store-bought)
3 pounds white fish fillets (such as monkfish, turbot, red snapper, striped bass, porgy, grouper, and/or cod), cut into 2-inch pieces
1/2 pound cockles or small hard-shelled clams, scrubbed
1/2 pound cultivated mussels, scrubbed and any beards removed
1/2 pound large shrimp in shells

Make Croutons:

Put oven rack in middle position and preheat oven to 250°F.
Arrange bread slices in 1 layer in a shallow baking pan and brush both sides with oil. Bake until crisp, about 30 minutes. Rub 1 side of each toast with a cut side of garlic.

Make Soup:

Plunge lobster headfirst into a 6- to 8-quart pot of boiling water, then cook, covered, 2 minutes from time lobster enters water. Transfer lobster with tongs to a colander and let stand until cool enough to handle. Discard hot water in pot. Put lobster in a shallow baking pan. Twist off claws with knuckles from body, then crack claws with a mallet or rolling pin and separate claws from knuckles. Halve body and tail lengthwise through shell with kitchen shears, then cut crosswise through shell into 2-inch pieces. Reserve lobster juices that accumulate in baking pan.

Cook tomatoes, onion, and garlic in oil in cleaned 6- to 8-quart pot over moderate heat, stirring occasionally, until onion is softened, 5 to 7 minutes. Meanwhile, peel potatoes and cut into 1/2-inch cubes. Stir potatoes into tomatoes with fennel fronds, bay leaf, saffron, sea salt, and pepper. Add stock and bring to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer, covered, until potatoes are almost tender, 8 to 10 minutes.

Add thicker pieces of fish and cockles to soup and simmer, covered, 2 minutes. Stir in mussels, shrimp, lobster, including juices, and remaining fish and simmer, covered, until they are just cooked through and mussels open wide, about 5 minutes.

Stir 3 tablespoons broth from soup into rouille until blended.

Arrange 2 croutons in each of 6 to 8 deep soup bowls. Carefully transfer fish and shellfish from soup to croutons with a slotted spoon, then ladle some broth with vegetables over seafood.

Top each serving with 1 teaspoon rouille and serve remainder on the side.

Rouille

Yield: Makes about 1/2 cup
Active Time: 15 min
Total Time: 15 min

3 tablespoons water
3/4 cup coarse fresh bread crumbs (preferably from a baguette, crust removed)
3 garlic cloves
1/2 teaspoon coarse sea salt
1/2 teaspoon cayenne
3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil

Pour water over bread crumbs in a bowl. Mash garlic to a paste with sea salt and cayenne using a mortar and pestle. Add moistened bread crumbs and mash into garlic paste.

Add oil in a slow stream, mashing and stirring vigorously with pestle until combined well.

Cook’s Note:

If you don’t have a mortar and pestle, use a large heavy knife to mince and mash the garlic. Transfer paste to a bowl and vigorously stir in bread with a fork. Add oil, stirring in the same manner.

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