Easy Bouillabaisse

Easy Bouillabaisse Pairing with Jean Jacques Auchere Sancerre 2019

INGREDIENTS

1 1/2 Pounds of thick cut fish of your choice like Halibut,

Salmon, Cod or Mahi Mahi (I used Salmon and Halibut)

6 Colossal shrimp raw with shells on (remove vein)

1 Dozen of fresh muscles debearded

8 Oz of King Crab Legs 2 Tablespoons of Olive Oil

1 Large Leek about 1 1/2 cups diced

1 Small fennel bulb about 1 cup diced

5 Garlic cloves MInced

1 28Oz stock options fish stock that is 3 1/2 cups of fish stock

1 14.5 Oz can of diced tomatoes plus juice

1 cup of Imagine vegetable stock

1/2 Teaspoon of Saffron

1 Tablespoon of fresh thyme

Garnish with Italian parsley

Salt and Pepper to taste

INGREDIENTS FOR ROUILLE

1 cup of bread crust removed

3 garlic cloves

1 egg yolk plus 1 tablespoon of water

1/2 teaspoon of cayenne pepper

1/4 cup of roasted red peppers (not hot)

1/4 cup of olive oil

Salt and Pepper to Taste

DIRECTIONS

1. This bouillabaisse is very easy and delicious and can be on your table in 30 minutes or less. What I love about this recipe is that it's very customizable to your taste. If you don't like shellfish don't add them, also if you are not a fan of crab leave it out this recipe can be what you want to add into your bouillabaisse. I like to add an array of fish and shellfish because it flavors up the stock tremendously. Bouillabaisse is a French saffron base fish stock recipe that is light and delicious and is always paired with a loaf of

French bread to soak up the stock. This recipe usually takes hours involving preparing your own fish stock from fish heads and carcasses but I have some amazing short cuts that will have this on the table in a matter of minutes without losing any of the flavor. I have a few tips on working with leeks and fennel bulb. Start with your fennel bulb, I like to cut the stalks off the top, save the fennel frowns if they kept any on the bulb it is great for garnish in the soup. Cut the bulb in half and remove the core in the middle then dice up the bulb. Leeks can be very dirty inside, after dicing up the leek drop the leeks into a bowl of water and separate all the pieces and look at the dirt that falls to the bottom of the bowl. Then remove the leeks from the water and dry off with a paper towel.

2. Start with a 6 quart pot with lid and add olive oil and turn the burner to a medium heat. It is important that you don't want to brown the leeks and fennel just slowly sweat out the liquids. When the oil heats up drop in the diced leeks and fennel then add some salt to draw out the moisture from the leeks. If needed back your heat down to medium low so they don't brown cook for 5 minutes.

Add the minced garlic and cook for an other 2 or 3 minutes until you see that the leeks have turned translucent.

3. I have a few short cuts to help speed up the time to have this amazing bouillabaisse on the table fast. The first one is add stock options fish stock pictured above it has great flavor better than many of the fish stocks I have tried. It is found in the frozen section just ask your grocery store. After the vegetables have finished cooking add the fish stock and the can of diced tomatoes and stir to incorporate all the ingredients. My next shortcut is adding 1 cup of vegetable stock I like the Imagine vegetable stock, It has a great depth of flavor one of my favorites for vegetable stock. Then you want to add the saffron, either break apart the saffron threads with a mortar and pestle or just crush them in the palm of your hand and toss into the stock. Remove the small leaves from the fresh thyme sprigs and add to the stock and stir to combine and simmer for 8 to 10 minutes to combine all the flavors. Taste for salt and pepper but the big fish flavors will come when you add all the shellfish and fish to the stock so don't judge the flavor at this point because I have done that myself.

4. This is the time to make the Rouille while the fish stock is simmering for 8 to 10 minutes. I like to spread the Rouille on the

French bread and also you stir it into your bowl of bouillabaisse to give a spicy garlicy flavor. In a food processor add all the ingredients and only half of the olive oil. Place bread without crust, garlic, roasted red pepper, cayenne, Yolk, water and salt and turn on your food processor and drizzle the olive oil in slowly it will turn into a mayonnaise consistency. This Rouille is a treat you will love it add loads of flavor to the bouillabaisse.

5. Make the Bouillabaisse your own, by adding what ever fish and shellfish you want to add to the stock. My only tip is your fish choice should be a thick solid piece of fish. For example if you add dover sole it would fall apart in the stock because it is so thin and delicate. In my experiences in making this many times is that an array of fish and shellfish give fantastic flavors to the bouillabaisse.

I used Salmon, Halibut, Shrimp, Muscles and King Crab Legs it was spectacular.

6. The most important tip while you cook the fish and shellfish is that the stock should NOT be on a rolling boil. Just a super low simmer you should only see a bubble or two at a time, the reason for this is that the fish would come out chewy if you boiled the fish.

This is tricky but don't toss everything in at the same time because everything is finished cooking at different times. I fist place in my thick pieces of salmon and halibut because they will take around 8 to 10 minutes you will see them flake apart when done. Next go in the muscles they take around 5 minutes for them to open up, place the lid on the pot so they steam inside the stock. Throw out any muscles that do not open they are bad. Then place in the shrimp they take 3 minutes you will see they turn gray to opaque salmon color. The last that went in the stock was king crab legs because they came steamed and fully cooked and just want to reheat them.

Remove from heat and enjoy right away. Garnish with Italian parsley and fennels frowns. Stir in your Rouille for extra flavor and enjoy. Cheers