| Bouillabaisse
French
French version of Cioppino
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| When Cathal Armstrong was growing up in Ireland, his father (a travel agent and avid cook) made all kinds of Spanish and French dishes, including a great bouillabaisse. Now Armstrong serves his own phenomenal bouillabaisse, packed with shrimp, mussels, clams and monkfish. When he began offering the dish at Restaurant Eve, one of the first customers to order it was his mother, who was visiting from Ireland. She loved it, Armstrong reports, adding wryly, "Why wouldn't she? She's my mother." |
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| Ingredients |
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BROTH
1/3 cup extra-virgin olive oil
8 shallots, coarsely chopped
2 leeks, white and tender green parts, coarsely chopped
1 medium fennel bulb, cored and coarsely chopped
1 head of garlic, cloves peeled and coarsely chopped
1 teaspoon tightly packed saffron
3 large tomatoes, coarsely chopped
2 tablespoons tomato paste
2 pounds non-oily white fish bones and heads
4 thyme sprigs
4 parsley sprigs
2 bay leaves
Salt and freshly ground pepper
ROUILLE
1 baking potato (8 ounces), peeled and cut into 1-inch dice
2 large egg yolks
2 large garlic cloves, chopped
1/2 roasted red pepper
1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon harissa
3/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
Salt
SOUP
1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 leek, white and tender green parts, finely diced
1/2 medium fennel bulb, cored and cut into 1/2-inch dice
1 baking potato, peeled and cut into 1/2-inch dice
1 large tomato—peeled, seeded and cut into 1/2-inch dice
12 littleneck clams, scrubbed and rinsed
16 mussels, debearded
8 large shrimp (1/2 pound), shelled and deveined
1 1/2 pounds snapper or monkfish fillets, cut into 2-inch chunks
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
3 tablespoons chopped basil
8 thin slices of baguette, brushed with olive oil and toasted
Lemon wedges, for serving
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Steps
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| 1 | MAKE THE BROTH: In a large pot, heat the olive oil. Add the shallots, leeks, fennel and garlic and cook over moderate heat until softened, about 8 minutes. Add the saffron and cook, stirring, for 1 minute. Add the tomatoes and tomato paste and cook over moderately high heat, stirring, for 2 minutes. Add the fish bones and heads, 3 quarts of water, the thyme, parsley and bay leaves and bring to a boil. Simmer over moderately low heat for 45 minutes. |
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| | 2 | Strain the broth and discard the solids. Return the broth to the pot and boil over high heat until it is reduced to 6 cups, about 20 minutes. Season the broth with salt and pepper. |
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| | 3 | MAKE THE ROUILLE: In a small saucepan of boiling, salted water, cook the potato until tender, about 7 minutes. Drain well and transfer to a food processor. With the machine on, add the egg yolks, chopped garlic, red pepper and harissa and process to a puree. With the machine on, add the olive oil and process very briefly until it's just incorporated. Scrape the rouille into a bowl and season with salt. Cover and refrigerate. |
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| | 4 | MAKE THE SOUP: In a large pot, heat the olive oil. Add the garlic, leek and fennel and cook over moderately low heat, stirring occasionally, until tender, about 8 minutes. Add the potato and cook until just tender, about 5 minutes. Add the tomato and cook, stirring, for 3 minutes. Stir in the broth and bring to a boil. Add the clams and cook over moderate heat until they start to open. Add the mussels, shrimp and fish and simmer until all of the seafood is just cooked, about 4 minutes. Stir in the lemon juice and basil; season with salt and pepper. |
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| | 5 | Spread the baguette toasts with some of the rouille. Spoon the bouillabaisse into 4 large, shallow bowls and serve with the toasts and lemon wedges. Pass the remaining rouille at the table. |
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| Notes
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MAKE AHEAD The broth can be refrigerated overnight. The rouille can be refrigerated for up to 4 hours.
WINE Nothing goes better with bouillabaisse than a rosé from the south of France; its summery berry flavor and light body is delicate enough for seafood but emphatic enough for the intensely garlicky rouille. Rosés from the 2005 vintage are now on wine-store shelves, among them the perky, strawberry-driven La Vieille Ferme Côtes du Ventoux and the almost citrusy Red Bicyclette.
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