Bouillabaisse — Frenchy fish stew with croutons and rouille
448,270
Published 2022-09-08
I refuse to write an actual recipe for a stew that's better improvised. FWIW, here's how I would make bouillabaisse in broad steps:
1) If you want rouille for the croutons, start with that, because the flavor improves as it sits around for awhile. Rouille is spicy aioli and aioli is garlicy mayonnaise made with olive oil, with or without egg yolk as an emulsifier. Some possible additions would be roasted red pepper, nuts, breadcrumbs, fish stock (maybe just the juice from your stew), lemon juice or vinegar, saffron, chili powder, etc. There is no one traditional recipe, so work with what you have and what you like. Just make a spicy, garlicy mayonanaise.
2) To start the stew, I'd cut up some form of onion, thin slice a fennel bulb (reserving the fronds for garnish), peel and chop some garlic and get all of that softening in a pan with olive oil. In the video I diced up an artichoke heart as well, but that probably wasn't worth it. Once soft, cover with fish stock if you have it or plain water if you don't.
3) If you don't have fish stock, you can just buy a cheap, whole white fish, cut off whatever good chunks of meat you can and reserve, stuff the bones and skin and head and everything into some cheese cloth along with some bay leaves and any vegetable trimmings you have, tie off the cloth and submerge it in your simmering pot. In a half hour, you'll have amazing seafood flavor and body in your stew, and you can just pull the cloth out and discard before you eat.
4) I'd do all of the above before prepping fresh tomatoes, because I think it's good to preserve their freshness and put them in halfway though. If you want to take their skins off, you can put them in the simmering stew until their skins split, pull them out and then the skins should peel off easily. Chop them roughly and get them simmering with everything else. Cook until they're pretty much broken down.
5) The stew is often flavored with dried orange peel, but I liked the result from using a fresh orange toward the end of cooking. Grate the zest into the stew and then squeeze in the juice. You can also add any last minute seasonings to taste at this point — I just did saffron and salt. Saffron is expensive so consider using paprika instead if you want a redder color.
6) Put your reserved fish chunks and any other seafood in the stew a few minutes before you plan to eat — most fish cooks very fast. This dish is traditionally made with a massive array of different kinds of fish, but I think it's cheaper and more sustainable to focus on making a great broth and then maybe just throw in some mussels at the end — cook them until they open up.
7) Slice up a baguette or some similar bread, toast the pieces under the boiler, top with rouille, and serve with the stew. Garnish with the fennel fronds.
All Comments (21)
-
In the mirror universe where removing tomato skin is not traditional, Adam (with a goatee) is saying "sure if you really need to you can remove the skin. long live the empire". Great vid as always Adam :)
-
I often eat leeks as side veggie all by themselves, served with a little olive oil and lemon or lime juice or wine vinegar. When I do this, I usually wash them AFTER slicing to be sure to get all the mud and grit out. Sometimes I will slice them as full rings instead of halving them first. You can wash them in a colander or sieve and get your hands in there and try to separate all the slices into individual rings.
-
The whole point of bouillabaisse was using cheap seafood left overs. The modern version is the perfect example of what was once peasent food being treated as gourmet.
-
Blows my mind how you’re able to make 3 videos a week without having any dips in quality. Great vid as always Edit: although if there were to be that’s no problem. Fans stick through it thick and thin
-
I often make a bouillabaisse inspired veggie soup, I love the tomato, fennel, orange and saffron combo. I have potatoes, carrots and parsnips in it as well. Sometimes I grind up some nori and add that for a slightly fishy touch.
-
you got a branzino (mediterranean sea bass) there, adam - definitely something you'll wanna revisit on its own! it's a sweet, firm and very sustainable fish, and a great alternative to black and striped bass. most of them are farmed in indoor recirculating tanks with not a lot of waste going out to the sea, and no risk of escapees or spreading disease to wild fish. they're a cheaper option, but definitely don't taste cheap. try it grilled, oven roasted or pan-seared.
-
5:35 so you’re telling me Adam chose to not put white wine in food? Impossible
-
Adam, PLEASE make a video on rye! Rye is a very much underused and underappreciated grain in the states. Personally, I very much like rye, yet I know nearly everyone here in the states hate it. However, people in other countries absolutely enjoy consuming rye and actually is a mainstay, culturally speaking. It would be interesting if you were to make a video where you explain the history of rye. The more in-depth and information filled the video is, the better.
-
I too am a fan of sop! I'll have to make this soon. I have an excellent fish/seafood market nearby, and they'll have just what I need.
-
3:15 the idea that "artichoke" is named because the hairs can "choke" you is a myth. its just the anglicised form of "articiocco" from spanish. originally from "al-kharshūfa" in arabic.
-
One of your best. I am super pedantic about following the recipes for iconic dishes, but when it's a recipe like this, where it literally has no standard classic version, then I think it is eqiually important to show how to infuse the spirit of the dish into the available ingredients, and you accomplished this perfectly here. In particular, the way you explained the utility of the whole fish, and why the skin and bones were so integral to the process, the use of the cheesecloth bag to allow infusing flavour from the indelible but still flavour filled scraps, and your casual rescue of the Rouille all did a great job of showing how easy it can be to cook 'fancy food'. Sure, there are plenty of dishes that require skill and finesse and a high level of technique, but most of the great meals ever made are just like this: someone took good food, thought about the flavours, and treated the process with respect . You made it look easy, because after you do a dish like this the first time, it IS easy, and so I am sure you started more than a few people on a long and very tasty lifetime with just this one video. Good for you, and good for everyone they ever invite over for dinner.
-
The Queen just died and Adams out here doing a French recipe. What an apex predator
-
Yeah, bouillabaisse is one of those. -What goes into the soup? -Watcha got?
-
For me I always go with prawns for this sort of thing. The shells and heads make a superb stock I enjoy a lot.
-
Mussels are SO under rated! I love them steamed with white wine garlic and butter sauce. I also greatly enjoy drunken clams made with mussels. Geapatcho is another under rated treat with mussels. Sorry for going way off track. Boulabadse is one of those intimidating words you hear as a home cook and despair thinking it is WAY out of your league. I’m going to have to try this now. Thank you for making it approachable
-
thank you for your recipes adam, me and my mom usually watch them while having breakfast and she learned quite a bit of English so far, thanks!
-
Queen: dead Adam: Bouillabaisse
-
Can't wait until I move out from my parent's house and can finally cook all the seafood dishes I want. This looks absolutely delicious
-
Hi Adam, Love the video(s) great quality. As a southern frenchman myself (I come from Toulon) that has made and eaten a lot of boulliabaisse along the entire Fench coast i have a fiew pointers: Rouille really has a traditional recipe and you damn near nailed it exept for the Pepper... It really was the first time i had heard that and it made Grand-Ma Linzer laugh. Instead I (we) recomend using safron (Whitch I would bet money on 90% of southern french people would use) I also know that you try to ajust recipes for the home cook and I love that too, but instead of random white fish my family put in shellfish (Specificaly small crab) and little stone fish etc. Theese are fish that get caught in the net alongside the big fish and usualy get thrown away, this is a great use for them. Anyway I doubt you might read this but if you do, know that I am a huge fan of your work, and this isnt a go at you, just maybe some helpfull pointers from the south of France. (Still waiting on your knife in Europe) Have a good one!
-
its amazing how much better you've gotten at this camera stuff, love the footage
