Recipes Make Magic
Senior Cook
This recipe is lengthy in order to best describe all the nuances, so it takes some time to put it all together properly, but it's well worth it if you love great-tasting seafood !
SEAFOOD - MARSEILLE BOUILLABAISSE
Fish & Seafood lovers - here's an excellent recipe for bouillabaisse which will more than satisfy all your seafood cravings on any cool fall evening, or truly anytime.
This fish stew is normally served with thick slices of fresh baguette bread, either plain, buttered, or lightly toasted, to sop up the wonderful tasting broth.
Some fish & seafood can be relatively expensive, so I'll try to stick with some of the less costly types of fish and shellfish ( with some higher cost items which some of you may prefer to use as substitutes if your wallet permits - if applicable, these will be listed below the choices, in parentheses).
This recipe is for 2-3 persons, but you might get 4 smaller servings out of it, so be guided accordingly
.
IMO, this dish is a top of the line fine dining restaurant menu item - it's not inexpensive overall for the ingredients combined, but it'll be a lot less than you'd pay for many menu items in any fine dining establishment.
Ingredients:
Fish: (Fresh or thawed if previously frozen)
- 2- 3 medium-sized fillets or pieces of either monkfish, snapper, haddock, pollock, tilapia, catfish, or ling cod.
Get as firm a whitefish as is available, and try to avoid flakier fish like black cod or sole.
(More costly, but excellent fish to use - e.g. halibut or swordfish)
Shellfish: ( Fresh or thawed if previously frozen)
- 10-12 jumbo prawns (shelled & sliced in half)
- 6-8 jumbo sea scallops ( small side muscle removed, and sliced in half)
- 3 dozen or more mussels (clean-up rinsed & beards removed, if evident)
- 2-3 dozen medium-sized clams (clean-up rinsed)
( If budget permits, 1 large or 2 small lobster tails - sliced up into bite-size portions)
Broth Ingredients:
(Use a large dutch oven or deep soup pot, or other similar large stovetop vessel)
- 2-3 tablespoons of olive oil & a similar amount of butter in which to lightly saute the following items until partially cooked/opaque - 3-4 minutes @ medium heat
- 1 large thinly sliced shallot - about 1/8" to 1/4" thickness (or 2 small shallots)
- 1 medium carrot, peeled & julienned into thin slivers approx. 1/4" thick X 2" long
- 1 celery stick, thinly sliced - 1/4" thickness
- 1/2 small red or other colored bell pepper, julienned of similar size to the carrot
- 1 leek, thinly sliced - 1/4" thickness (optional)
- 3-4 garlic cloves - thinly sliced, or diced
- 1 small fennel bulb, slivered top to bottom in 1/4" thickness (bottom core removed so it will come apart like onion rings)
(Note: the fennel bulb may be omitted, IF 1/3 cup of anise flavored liquor is available -e.g. pernod, ouzo, or sambucca; or alternatively, use 1 teaspoon of ground fennel - see below) -
- At this point, also add 4-5 pieces of 1" to 2" long strips of orange peel.
Use a potato peeler to strip these off an orange, taking up as little of the bitter white pith as possible - these strips can be removed later when they have infused their flavor into the broth, following the simmering outlined below.
- ( Also, If you have it available, a large pinch of saffron soaked in your white wine for a bit before adding it per below, will add some nice flavor too)
Followed by adding, for low simmering up to 1/2 hour or more: ( more or less in the chronological order below)
- 1/2 to 3/4 cup white wine, & the 1/3 cup of anise flavored liqueur, if using
- 3/4 cup of either fish stock, or clam juice ( 1 partial small can of either will work)
- The squeezed juice of that 1 orange from which you have removed the zest strips
- 1 - 36 - 40 oz. can of tomato sauce
- 2 tablespoons of tomato paste
- 1/4 teaspoon of pepper flakes
- 1/2 teaspoon of sugar-
- 1 teaspoon each of basil & thyme, and 1/2 tspn. oregano
- 1/3 cup approx. of chopped parsley
- 1-2 bay leaves (removed later before adding fish & shellfish)
- Salt & pepper to taste (white pepper if you have it)
After simmering for up to 1/2 hour or more, and approx. 10-15 minutes before serving time, turn heat up to medium and add the fish & shellfish, in the stated order:
- Fish fillets first, followed soon by the prawns & scallops, and the lobster tail meat if using, simmer for approx. 5- 7 minutes , add the mussels & clams last, then cover the pot & cook for another 5 minutes or so, until all the shells have opened.
Lightly stir broth & serve in shallow soup bowls, along with the sliced french bread baguette.
This fantastic fish stew will warm your heart and liven your spirits - it's definitely one of my top 5 most satisfying soul food meals !
I think you'll want to add it to your list of 'must make'- 3 or 4 times a year at least.
( If I was on death row, this might be my request for my last meal. LOL)
ENJOY !
I'll post a small photo of the finished product later.
SEAFOOD - MARSEILLE BOUILLABAISSE
Fish & Seafood lovers - here's an excellent recipe for bouillabaisse which will more than satisfy all your seafood cravings on any cool fall evening, or truly anytime.
This fish stew is normally served with thick slices of fresh baguette bread, either plain, buttered, or lightly toasted, to sop up the wonderful tasting broth.
Some fish & seafood can be relatively expensive, so I'll try to stick with some of the less costly types of fish and shellfish ( with some higher cost items which some of you may prefer to use as substitutes if your wallet permits - if applicable, these will be listed below the choices, in parentheses).
This recipe is for 2-3 persons, but you might get 4 smaller servings out of it, so be guided accordingly
.
IMO, this dish is a top of the line fine dining restaurant menu item - it's not inexpensive overall for the ingredients combined, but it'll be a lot less than you'd pay for many menu items in any fine dining establishment.
Ingredients:
Fish: (Fresh or thawed if previously frozen)
- 2- 3 medium-sized fillets or pieces of either monkfish, snapper, haddock, pollock, tilapia, catfish, or ling cod.
Get as firm a whitefish as is available, and try to avoid flakier fish like black cod or sole.
(More costly, but excellent fish to use - e.g. halibut or swordfish)
Shellfish: ( Fresh or thawed if previously frozen)
- 10-12 jumbo prawns (shelled & sliced in half)
- 6-8 jumbo sea scallops ( small side muscle removed, and sliced in half)
- 3 dozen or more mussels (clean-up rinsed & beards removed, if evident)
- 2-3 dozen medium-sized clams (clean-up rinsed)
( If budget permits, 1 large or 2 small lobster tails - sliced up into bite-size portions)
Broth Ingredients:
(Use a large dutch oven or deep soup pot, or other similar large stovetop vessel)
- 2-3 tablespoons of olive oil & a similar amount of butter in which to lightly saute the following items until partially cooked/opaque - 3-4 minutes @ medium heat
- 1 large thinly sliced shallot - about 1/8" to 1/4" thickness (or 2 small shallots)
- 1 medium carrot, peeled & julienned into thin slivers approx. 1/4" thick X 2" long
- 1 celery stick, thinly sliced - 1/4" thickness
- 1/2 small red or other colored bell pepper, julienned of similar size to the carrot
- 1 leek, thinly sliced - 1/4" thickness (optional)
- 3-4 garlic cloves - thinly sliced, or diced
- 1 small fennel bulb, slivered top to bottom in 1/4" thickness (bottom core removed so it will come apart like onion rings)
(Note: the fennel bulb may be omitted, IF 1/3 cup of anise flavored liquor is available -e.g. pernod, ouzo, or sambucca; or alternatively, use 1 teaspoon of ground fennel - see below) -
- At this point, also add 4-5 pieces of 1" to 2" long strips of orange peel.
Use a potato peeler to strip these off an orange, taking up as little of the bitter white pith as possible - these strips can be removed later when they have infused their flavor into the broth, following the simmering outlined below.
- ( Also, If you have it available, a large pinch of saffron soaked in your white wine for a bit before adding it per below, will add some nice flavor too)
Followed by adding, for low simmering up to 1/2 hour or more: ( more or less in the chronological order below)
- 1/2 to 3/4 cup white wine, & the 1/3 cup of anise flavored liqueur, if using
- 3/4 cup of either fish stock, or clam juice ( 1 partial small can of either will work)
- The squeezed juice of that 1 orange from which you have removed the zest strips
- 1 - 36 - 40 oz. can of tomato sauce
- 2 tablespoons of tomato paste
- 1/4 teaspoon of pepper flakes
- 1/2 teaspoon of sugar-
- 1 teaspoon each of basil & thyme, and 1/2 tspn. oregano
- 1/3 cup approx. of chopped parsley
- 1-2 bay leaves (removed later before adding fish & shellfish)
- Salt & pepper to taste (white pepper if you have it)
After simmering for up to 1/2 hour or more, and approx. 10-15 minutes before serving time, turn heat up to medium and add the fish & shellfish, in the stated order:
- Fish fillets first, followed soon by the prawns & scallops, and the lobster tail meat if using, simmer for approx. 5- 7 minutes , add the mussels & clams last, then cover the pot & cook for another 5 minutes or so, until all the shells have opened.
Lightly stir broth & serve in shallow soup bowls, along with the sliced french bread baguette.
This fantastic fish stew will warm your heart and liven your spirits - it's definitely one of my top 5 most satisfying soul food meals !
I think you'll want to add it to your list of 'must make'- 3 or 4 times a year at least.
( If I was on death row, this might be my request for my last meal. LOL)
ENJOY !
I'll post a small photo of the finished product later.
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