Bouillabaisse
Bouillabaisse is a fairly simple dish, it’s merely a fish stew with seafood, fennel, thyme, and saffron, originating from the city of Marseille, France. This classic French dish was created when fishermen threw in fish and other ingredients they could not sell to restaurants and markets.
Like most simple food, (especially peasant dishes) that originated from scraps and have become delicious delicacies in restaurants today, bouillabaisse is no different. I have had this dish a few different ways, from traditionally classic in France to modern and divergent recipes. Whilst there is no perfect formula for bouillabaisse, to me, several components make it the traditional bouillabaisse that I love, having white fish (your preferred ocean fish is fine), fennel, leek, thyme, and of course, saffron threads present in the stew.
Usually, you would use pastis (a herbal liqueur), which has flavour notes of aniseed, and liquorice but to mimic those notes, I have used a piece of the stalk of fennel and vermouth. I used vermouth because it’s what I had on hand and the taste is amazing but any dry white wine of your preference will work. View tips below!
Helpful Tips
You need to make sure that you nail your stock, as long as you have a good-tasting stock, the rest will fall into place because seafood doesn’t take long to cook. I hope you enjoy the recipe, use it as a base to add your favourite seafood. I have used a variety including, mussels, scallops, cod, and shrimp.
A great tip when planning this dish is to make seafood stock. You can do this easily, as I did, by saving the shells of seafood to create a tasty stock (*See FAQs for a quick stock). In this recipe, you can use homemade seafood stock or clam juice.
I used the Emile Henry Sublime Dutch oven for this recipe. See other options below.
Equipment:
Bouillabaisse
Description
Make this hearty stew, bouillabaisse, a modern take on the Provençal fish stew. It's made with vegetables, seafood, and dry vermouth.
Ingredients
Method:
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Prep:
- Wash fennel. Then, cut about 3 inches (around 8 cm) of the stalk from the fennel. Save this piece, we will use it in our stock. Core, the fennel bulb, and finely slice it. Set aside.
- Thinly slice the leek and soak it in a bowl of cold water, allowing the dirt to fall at the bottom. Use your finger to stir it a bit. Then, place the leeks on kitchen paper towels to drain. Set aside.
- You should already have the rest of the ingredients ready, but if you haven't done so dice tomatoes, mince garlic, and chop fresh herbs. Proceed to the next step.
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Making the stew:
- In a 6 or 7 Qt.-capacity Dutch oven, heat the olive oil and melt the butter over medium-high heat. Add the fennel, leek, and onion, then sauté for 4 minutes, or until slightly softened. Stir with a wooden spoon or silicone spatula.
- Add 1/4 teaspoon of black pepper, and 1/4 teaspoon of salt, then add the minced garlic. Cook 1 minute more, stirring until the garlic is fragrant.
- Stir in the tomato paste, chopped thyme, diced tomatoes, bay leaves, and paprika. Cook a further 2 minutes.
- Now, add the cut stalk of fennel, saffron, seafood stock, dry vermouth, and two orange peel pieces. Bring it to a boil; lower the heat to medium and simmer for 8 minutes.
- Add the cod fish. Cook for 2 minutes. Then, add in the mussels and scallops. Cover with a lid and cook for 3 to 4 minutes, or until the mussels have opened and the scallops become firm and opaque. Add the shrimp for the last two minutes and cook until the shrimp has just cooked through. Now, all of the seafood should be cooked. Check for doneness.
- Adjust seasoning, adding salt and pepper to taste.
- Switch off the heat, and remove the Dutch oven from the heat. Discard the bay leaves, and the cut stalk of fennel.
- Stir in the chopped basil and parsley. Garnish with fennel fronds.
- Taste and add crushed red pepper flakes, if desired.
- Ladle a generous amount of bouillabaisse into wide bowls. Serve with fresh French baguette slices.
Note
Although this is a simple recipe to make there are a lot of ingredients. Take your time and lay all your ingredients out (mise en place), making sure before you start, your fennel, leek, onion, tomatoes, and garlic are sliced, diced, and minced. Don’t rush, it will come together with a little time.
The main thing is to use fresh seafood and herbs, and try not to skip the saffron, because there really is no flavour like it! If you don't have saffron, wait until you do!
FAQs
Yes, if you don't have access to mussels with the shell on, then you can use the fresh shell on clams (littleneck clams or your preferred clams will work), just make certain you wash them well before starting the recipe.
Sea scallops are amazing in this recipe. The great thing about bouillabaisse is that you can use pretty much any shellfish. If you aren't in the market for good-quality scallops, you can omit them or use clams instead. Another idea is to use lobster tails or langoustines if you're already using clams instead of mussels.
Seafood stock is simple to make, but if you're usually not cooking a lot of seafood it might be easier to use a pre-made stock. Just watch out for the sodium of pre-made stocks. If you are planning to make this recipe, you can do one or two things:
1. Use clam juice, instead of a homemade seafood stock, or use half clam juice and half water where there is (4 cups) seafood stock.
2. Or, for quick seafood stock (without wine), you can save any seafood shells (shrimp, crab, lobster, clams) and fish heads (optional) whenever you cook seafood (save about 1 to 2 pounds) and freeze them in a zip-top bag. When you're ready to make stock:
- Add 1 tablespoon olive oil to a 5 or 6 Qt.-capacity Dutch oven over medium heat. Then, add 1 chopped shallot, and 1 tablespoon tomato paste. Let it cook for a couple of minutes and stir the tomato paste with the chopped shallot.
- Then, fill a pot with 6 cups half water and half clam juice (yep, that's 3 cups each).
- Add 1 chopped celery stalk, and 1/4 cup of dried parsley. Boil it for 5 minutes, and stir well a few times.
- Lower heat to a gentle simmer for 25-30 minutes, uncovered.
- Add salt and black pepper to taste and stir. Turn off the heat then, strain the stock through a fine mesh sieve. Discard shells and other seafood pieces.
- Allow the stock to cool for at least 20-30 minutes before pouring it into glass jars. The stock can be stored in the freezer for up to six months.
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