Make this bouillabaisse dish, remember it forever
Every Saturday, Chef Mark McEwan, one of Canada’s most celebrated chefs, serves up everything you need for a special weekend meal, including a recipe and expert at-home cooking tips.
This is a beautiful pairing of perfect fish and seafood in a rich saffron-infused broth and garlicky rouille.
Bouillabaisse is such a special dish — when you have an excellent version of it, you always remember it. My best bouillabaisse memory was of this exact recipe which I enjoyed at my cottage on the deck in late September.
I had a boy’s night with a healthy main instead of the usual steak fest!
Chef tips:
á The key to this recipe is the seafood and the fish — it should be of pristine quality. Use fresh, not frozen seafood and fish and take care not to over cook the proteins. á The seafood is number one, but the saffron is very important too because it infuses the entire dish. You can omit or make substitutions for some of the other herbs, but the saffron is essential. á I would start this meal with steak tartare, grilled bread and pickled red onion. A Spanish white from the Atlantic side would be a great wine pairing.
Saffron-Infused Bouillabaisse with Rouille
2 quarts (2 L) fish stock
1 large pinch saffron threads
2 tbsp (30 mL) olive oil
1/2 medium carrot, julienned 1/2 yellow or 1 small white
onion, julienned
1/4 fennel bulb, julienned
1/2 leek, white part only,
julienned
1/2 clove garlic, very thinly sliced
3 strips of orange peel, pith removed
1 small oil-preserved red chili, sliced
2 sprigs thyme
1 bay leaf
1/2 cup (125 mL) white wine
Salt and pepper
1 cup (250 mL) tomato concasse
8 clams, scrubbed
1 skinless black cod fillet, about 6 oz (175 g), cut into 4 pieces
8 mussels, bearded and scrubbed
8 medium shrimp, shelled and deveined
4 large sea scallops, halved crosswise
1 small lobster, about 11/2 lb
(625 g), cooked and shelled
1 tbsp (15 mL) whipped butter
1 tbsp (15 mL) minced Italian parsley
8 slices of baguette, toasted
1 cup (250 mL) rouille
Bring fish stock to a simmer. Add saffron, cover, turn off heat, and allow to steep. Heat oil in a large saucepan and begin to sauté the carrots and
onions. As soon as they begin to soften (in 2 or 3 minutes), add the fennel, leek, garlic, orange peel, chili, thyme and bay leaf. Do not allow the vegetables to colour — as soon as they begin to wilt, deglaze with wine, then season. Strain the saffron-infused fish stock through a sieve into saucepan. Bring to a simmer. Add tomatoes, clams and cod; cover. Three or four minutes later, add mussels, shrimp and scallops; cover again. Two minutes later, follow with the cooked lobster. By the time the lobster is heated through, all the shellfish should have opened — discard any that haven’t. Stir in the whipped butter and sprinkle with parsley. Ladle soup into warm serving bowls and serve with the toast and a large ramekin of rouille. Serves 4.
Fish stock 2 lb (1 kg)
white fish bones (such as halibut, sole, turbot, flounder), rinsed and chopped
1/2 Spanish onion, sliced
1 small leek, white part only,
sliced
16 parsley stems
3 bay leaves
12 peppercorns
1 lemon, sliced
1 cup (250 mL) white wine
2 tbsp (30 mL) kosher salt
Combine all ingredients in a heavy-bottomed stock pot (not aluminum). Add 2 quarts (2 L) cold water; bring to a boil. Simmer for an hour or so, skimming scum from surface as it rises. Strain. Makes about 2 quarts (2 L).
Tomato concasse
About 4 Roma tomatoes yields 1 cup (250 mL) concasse. Blanch Roma tomatoes and shock in ice water. Peel and quarter. Remove tops, seeds and pulp. Cut flesh into fine dice or diamond shape.
Par-cooked lobster 1/2 cup (125 mL)
1
white vinegar live lobster, about 11/2 lb (175 g)
Bring 8 quarts (8 L) cold water to a boil in a pot large enough to accommodate the lobster. Add vinegar; remove from the heat. Add lobster, cover. Two minutes later, remove with a pair of tongs. With a kitchen cloth, twist off claws and return them to the pot for an additional 5 minutes. Detach the tail from the body. Twist off the tail fan, insert a thumb, and push out the lobster meat. Remove knuckles from claws. Pull down the pincer and move it from side to side. It should detach with the cartilage attached, leaving the claw intact. Crack the claw shell and remove claw meat. Cut knuckles with kitchen shears and remove knuckle meat. Refrigerate lobster meat until needed.
Whipped butter
1 lb (450 g) butter, at room temperature
3 ice cubes
Place butter in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a paddle. Blend until creamy. Add ice cubes and blend until melted and incorporated completely. Keep refrigerated.
Rouille
1 cup (250 mL)
diced peeled potato, steamed
1 cup (250 mL) saffron-infused
fish stock
1 tbsp (15 mL) olive oil
1 tsp (5 mL) minced garlic
1/2 oil-preserved red chili, minced
Pinch each of salt and pepper
In a blender, combine potato, half the stock, olive oil, garlic and chili and whiz until smooth. Adjust texture with more fish stock if necessary. Adjust seasonings.
Makes about 11/2 cups (375 mL).
Chef Mark McEwan is a Torontobased chef, entrepreneur, mentor and writer of bestselling cookbooks. He is a freelance contributor for the Star.