Bouillabaisse With Rouille Topped Croutons Recipes

BOUILLABAISSE WITH ROUILLE

Steps:

• For the stock:
• Add all ingredients into a large stockpot and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat and simmer for 30 minutes. Strain, reserving the stock, and cool in an ice water bath. Whatever is not used that day should be refrigerated for up to 1 week, or frozen for up to 3 months.
• For the bouillabaisse:
• In another large, wide and shallow pan, over medium heat, add 2 tablespoons olive oil. When the oil is hot, add the onion and fennel, cook for 2 minutes. Deglaze with the Pernod, and add the tomatoes, fish stock, seaweed, hot Italian peppers, crushed red pepper and season with salt and pepper. Add the lobster meat and cook for 3 minutes, covering the pot with aluminum foil or lid. Then add the rest of the seafood and cook, covered for about 6 minutes until the clams and mussels have opened.
• For the rouille:
• In a food processor, combine the roasted red pepper, garlic, bread, egg yolk, Dijon, lemon juice and salt and pepper. While the food processor is still on, slowly drizzle in the olive oil.
• Serve the Bouillabaisse in bowls with the toasted bread and Rouille on the side.

BOUILLABAISSE

Steps:

• For the Rockfish Soup:
• Prepare the fish by cutting off the gills and external hairy bits and discarding. Keep the fish in salt water.
• Put the small rock fish (girolles, baby crabs, stone fish) into a large saucepan of cold water on high heat. Add the thyme, rosemary and bay leaves. Bring slowly to a boil, then simmer for 30 minutes.
• For the Soup:
• Heat 2 tablespoons of olive oil in a large heavy-bottomed saucepan. Cook the chopped onions until translucent. Pour in the tomatoes and cook for 5 minutes, then add the sliced potatoes. Place the pieces of John Dory and the monkfish on top.
• Strain the rock fish soup through a strainer on top of the fish and boil for 5 minutes.
• Place the rascasse, scorpion fish, and red mullet on top. Add a pinch of saffron and watch soup turn a rich yellow color. Finally add the lobster halves and cook for a maximum of 5 minutes.
• Serve the big fish on a serving plate and the soup in a casserole. Serve the pieces of fish on the plate with potato slices and the Croutons with Rouille and pour the soup over the top. Eat immediately.

BOUILLABAISSE WITH ROUILLE TOPPED CROUTONS

Steps:

• PREPARE BOUILLABAISSE:.
• Heat oil in a large pot and gently cook onions until clear, 10-15 minutes.
• Add leek and celery and cook a further 10 minutes.
• Add bay leaves, garlic, tomato paste and chilli paste.
• Sizzle a few seconds.
• Mix in wine, saffron, honey and tomatoes.
• Cook over low heat, 20 minutes.
• Add fish stock and season to taste.
• Bring back to a simmer and add mussels (or steam separately then add them to the soup with their juices); discard any mussels that don't open.
• Add fish fillets and simmer gently until just cooked, 2-3 minutes.
• Divide between hot soup bowls and top with a crouton spread with rouille.
• Pass extra rouille and croutons around separately.
• ROUILLE:.
• Puree all the ingredients, adding salt to taste.
• Stored in the fridge, rouille will keep for 2-3 days.
• CROUTONS:.
• Preheat oven to 300ºF.
• Remove the crusts from 6 thick slices of sourdough bread baguette.
• Mix together olive oil, garlic, parmesan, oregano and salt; brush over the bread on both sides.
• Dice the bread into 3/4" pieces and spread out on a baking tray.
• Bake until golden and crisp, about 25 minutes; these can cook while cooking the soup on top of stove.
• **Store croutons in an airtight containe; they will keep fresh for several weeks and if they become stale simply heat in a 350ºF oven to refresh 5 to 10 minutes.

BOUILLABAISSE

Steps:

• Make croutons:
• Preheat oven to 250°F.
• Arrange bread slices in 1 layer in a shallow baking pan and brush both sides with oil. Bake in middle of oven 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 simmer, covered, until potatoes are almost tender, 8 to 10 minutes.
• Add thicker pieces of fish to soup and simmer, uncovered, 2 minutes. Stir in remaining fish and lobster, including juices, and simmer, uncovered, until they are just cooked through, 3 to 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 lobster 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.

BOUILLABAISSE

Steps:

• To make the croutons heat oven to 200C/180C fan/gas 6. Lay the slices of bread on a flat baking tray in a single layer, drizzle with olive oil and bake for 15 mins until golden and crisp. Set aside - can be made a day ahead and kept in an airtight container.
• Use a layer of the green part of the leek to wrap around and make a herb bundle with the thyme, bay, parsley stalks, orange peel and chilli. Tie everything together with kitchen string and set aside.
• Heat the oil in a very large casserole dish or stock pot and throw in the onion, sliced leek and fennel and cook for about 10 mins until softened. Stir through the garlic and cook for 2 mins more, then add the herb bundle, tomato purée, star anise, Pernod if using, chopped tomatoes and saffron. Simmer and stir for a minute or two then pour over the fish stock. Season with salt and pepper, bring to a simmer, then add the piece of potato. Bubble everything gently for 30 mins until you have a thin tomatoey soup. When that piece of potato is on the brink of collapse, fish it out and set aside to make the rouille.
• While the broth is simmering make the rouille by crushing the garlic, chilli and saffron with a pinch of salt in a mortar with a pestle. Mash in the cooked potato to make a sticky paste then whisk in the egg yolk and, very gradually, the olive oil until you make a mayonnaise-like sauce. Stir in the lemon juice and set aside.
• Once the chunky tomato broth has cooked you have two options: for a rustic bouillabaisse, simply poach your fish in it along with the mussels, if you're using (just until they open) and serve. For a refined version, remove the herb bundle and star anise. Using a handheld or table-top blender, blitz the soup until smooth. Pass the soup through a sieve into a large, clean pan and bring to a gentle simmer. Starting with the densest fish, add the chunks to the broth and cook for 1 min before adding the next type. With the fish we used, the order was: monkfish, John Dory, grey mullet, snapper. When all the fish is in, scatter over the mussels, if using, and simmer everything for about 5 mins until just cooked and the mussels have opened.
• Use a slotted spoon to carefully scoop the fish and mussels out onto a warmed serving platter, moisten with just a little broth and scatter over the chopped parsley. Bring everything to the table. Some people eat it as two courses, serving the broth with croutons and rouille first, then the fish spooned into the same bowl. Others simply serve it as a fish stew. Whichever way you choose the rouille is there to be stirred into the broth to thicken and give it a kick.

TRADITIONAL BOUILLABAISSE

Steps:

• Marinate fish: Stir together saffron and pastis; set aside. Stir together sliced fennel, 1/4 cup fronds, and 2 tablespoons garlic. Divide fennel mixture between two 9-by-13-inch nonreactive baking dishes. Cut fish into uniform portions, each 4 to 5 inches long and 2 to 3 inches wide. Generously season with salt. Put thick pieces in one baking dish and thin ones in the other. (They will be poached in separate batches later.) Pour 2 tablespoons pastis mixture and 1/4 cup oil into each dish; turn fish to coat. Cover; marinate in refrigerator 2 hours, turning once.
• Meanwhile, prepare stock: Cover fish heads and bones with cold water; let soak. Heat remaining 1/4 cups oil in a tall, 10-quart stockpot (that includes a steamer basket for later use) over medium heat until hot but not smoking. Add onion, leeks, celery, chopped fennel, 1 tablespoon salt, and remaining garlic. Cook, stirring, until translucent, about 7 minutes.
• Add tomato paste; stir well. Stir in 2 cups wine, remaining pastis mixture, orange zest, and juice. Tie together bay leaves, parsley, thyme, and rosemary sprigs with kitchen string; add to pot. Stir broth. Bring to a boil.
• Drain and rinse fish heads and bones; add to pot. Pour in 10 cups cold water (liquid should come to within 3 inches of rim of pot). Bring to a boil; let boil for 10 minutes. Skim foam from surface.
• Reduce heat to medium-high. Stir in tomatoes. Cook until stock is slightly reduced, about 20 minutes. Raise heat to high; boil until olive oil binds with liquids, 20 to 30 minutes. Meanwhile, bring marinated fish to room temperature.
• Steam shellfish: Put mussels and shrimp in a large, shallow pot (steaming the shrimp in their shells enhances their flavor). Add 1/2 cup wine and 1/4 cup fennel fronds; cover. Cook over high heat until shrimp are pink and cooked through and mussels are open (check pot frequently after 4 minutes). Transfer cooked shellfish with a slotted spoon to a large bowl (after 7 minutes, discard any mussels that remain closed); reserve pot. Cover bowl with foil.
• Pass stock through a food mill: Using tongs or a slotted spoon, lift out heads and large bones; discard. Discard herbs. In batches, pass stock through a food mill set over the pot of shellfish juices, extracting as much liquid as possible. (If you don't have a food mill, pass stock through a fine sieve, firmly pressing on solids with the back of a ladle.) Discard solids.
• Pass broth through a chinois or a fine sieve into stockpot. Press on solids; discard. Reserve 1/2 cup broth for rouille.
• Cook potatoes: Bring broth to a boil. Place potatoes in steamer basket; submerge in broth. Reduce heat to medium; cook until tender, about 8 minutes. Transfer to a serving platter; cover with foil.
• Cook fish: Return broth to a boil. Place thick fish pieces in basket; submerge in broth. Reduce heat to low. Poach until cooked through, about 6 minutes. Transfer to platter; cover with foil. Return broth to a boil; place thin fish pieces in basket; submerge in broth. Reduce heat to low; poach until cooked through, 4 to 5 minutes. Transfer to platter; pour any juices from platter and shellfish bowl into broth. Cover fish and shellfish with foil.
• Pass broth through a chinois or fine sieve into a serving bowl. Press on solids with a ladle; discard solids.
• Serve: Ladle about 3/4 cup broth into each bowl. Serve with rouille-topped croutons. Follow with fish and potatoes, served with any remaining broth.

BOUILLABAISSE

Steps:

• Prepare fish Follow the instructions on pages 120-121 to fillet the fish (or have the fishmonger do this, giving you the head and bones); then skin the fillet (see note). You should end up with 3 to 4 pounds of fish fillets and 2 to 3 pounds of bones and heads. Cut the bones crosswise into 4-inch pieces and the fish into 2- to 3-inch pieces (make them uniform so they cook evenly). For the marinade, stir together 2 tablespoons Pernod, 1/2 teaspoon salt, and 1/4 teaspoon pepper; pour over the fish, turn the pieces to coat, then cover and refrigerate for 1 to 3 hours, turning the fish again halfway through. (Do not marinate longer than 3 hours or the texture of the fish will start to deteriorate.)
• Make stock Combine the fish bones and heads, leeks, celery, fennel, orange zest, tomatoes, remaining 2 tablespoons Pernod, wine, bay leaf, and the water in a large stockpot. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat so the liquid is at a simmer, and cook for 30 minutes, skimming the foam from the surface with a ladle every so often. Strain the stock by pouring it through a cheesecloth-lined sieve, pressing on the solids with the ladle to extract as much liquid as possible from fish heads and bones (this will add body to the stock). Discard the solids, and strain the stock again (using clean cheesecloth) to remove any remaining solids, without pressing this time. Set the stock aside in a clean pot. Reserve 1/2 cup stock for rouille.
• Make rouille and croutons Ladle the reserved stock over the bread cubes and let soak for 10 minutes, then squeeze the bread with your hands (save the broth in case you need to thin the rouille). Puree garlic in a food processor or a blender, then add bread, saffron, cayenne, salt, and egg yolk, and puree until combined. With the motor running, add the oil in a slow, steady stream, mixing until the sauce is emulsified. If it seems too thick-it should be spreadable like mayonnaise-you can thin it with some of the reserved stock. Meanwhile, heat the oven to 350°F. Brush the tops of the croutons lightly with oil, and toast until lightly browned, about 10 minutes.
• Finish stew When you are about ready to serve, return the stock to the stove and add the saffron and potatoes. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat, and cook at a rapid simmer for 10 minutes. Continue simmering until the potatoes are fork-tender, about 5 minutes. Add the fish from the marinade to the pot. Cook over low heat (the stock should be at a gentle simmer) until the fish is just cooked through and opaque throughout, about 5 minutes. Remove each piece of fish as soon as it is ready. Taste, and season broth with salt and pepper and a splash (or two) of Pernod, if desired.
• Serve Ladle broth and potatoes into bowls, and divide fish evenly among servings. Spread some of the croutons with rouille for floating on top, and serve the remaining croutons and rouille on the side. If desired, you can stir some rouille into the broth at the table.
• SKINNING A FILLET
• Lay fillet skin side down. Holding the tail of the fish in one hand, insert a slicing knife with a flexible blade between the skin and flesh. Keeping the knife at a 45-degree angle and cutting toward the skin, slice from tail to head to remove skin; you may need to move the knife from side to side slightly as you cut. You might also need to stop every now and then to get a firmer grip on the slippery skin (or hold with a paper towel).
• Bouillabaise Tips
• To make the stock ahead of time, wait to buy the fish you will use in the stew and ask your fishmonger for scraps of similar fish to use in the stock. Then freeze the stock in tightly sealed containers for up to 2 months and thaw in the refrigerator before proceeding. Or make the stock as instructed (with the fish that will be served in the stew), let cool, and refrigerate overnight in a covered container.
• If you're making the stock ahead of time, you can also make the rouille (since it calls for some of the stock, or you could use water instead). Cover and refrigerate overnight, then let it come to room temperature before serving.
• Equipment
• You'll need to use a pot that is large enough to hold all of the ingredients, with about 3 inches to spare on top. (If you're not sure, pile the raw ingredients together in the pot before cooking.)
• To strain the stock, line a fine sieve with cheesecloth; you'll have to do this step twice, each time with clean cheesecloth. Or pass the stock mixture through a food mill fitted with a coarse disk, then through a cheesecloth-lined sieve.
• Ingredients
• It's not so important which type of fish you choose, but rather that the fish is as fresh as can be, and that you have a variety, anywhere from four to seven types. Preferably the variety will include contrasting tastes (mild and briny) and textures (firm and flaky). The ones listed here are suggestions; buy whatever is fresh at your local fish market.
• Traditional recipes for bouillabaisse do not contain any shellfish, but now many versions do. Cockles, which are similar to small clams, cherrystones, or littlenecks, would make a lovely addition, as would mussels.
• Pernod, an anise-flavored apéritif, reinforces the flavor of the fennel. Pastis is equally appropriate.