Gilbert Le Cozes Bouillabaisse Recipes

Steps:

• Heat oven to 400 degrees; brush bread liberally with olive oil, and bake on a sheet, turning once, until golden and crisp, about 5 minutes. Set aside.
• Add enough olive oil to a Dutch oven, deep skillet or shallow pot to make a thick layer (don't skimp) on the bottom. In it, cook onion, garlic, celery, carrot, potato, fennel and saffron until glossy. Add stock and tomato and bring to a moderate boil; cook until thick and stewy rather than soupy. Season to taste; it should be so delicious that you don't even care whether you add fish.
• Lower heat to a simmer, and, as you add fish, adjust heat so that the liquid continues to bubble gently. Add fish in order of how long they will take to cook. Monkfish, striped bass and squid are fish that might require more than a few minutes, so add them first. About five minutes later add clams and mussels, holding back any fish that has been cooked or will cook in a flash. When mollusks open, add remaining fish. Cut scallops into quarters and place in the bottom of 4 bowls.
• Add pastis if you're using it; taste and adjust seasoning. Ladle hot soup and fish over the scallops, distributing clams and mussels evenly. Garnish and serve with croutons and rouille, if you're using.

Steps:

• To make the fish soup, place all the fish bones and scraps, along with the crabs, in a large piece of cheesecloth and tie securely.
• Heat the oil in a 10- to 12-quart pot. Add the fennel, leeks, onion, shallots and garlic along with the eel and sea robin fillets and cook slowly, until the vegetables are tender. Add the wine. Place the bag of fish bones and the bouquet garni in the pot and add the tomatoes, tomato paste and water to completely cover the fish bones.
• Season lightly with cayenne pepper and salt. Bring to a simmer and cook very slowly for two and a half hours.
• Remove the bag of fish bones and the bouquet garni and drain well. Pass the soup mixture through a food mill, add the saffron, place in a large saucepan and simmer for 45 minutes to reduce it further. Adjust the seasonings. Strain through several thicknesses of cheesecloth. There should be between two and a half and three quarts. This soup can be prepared in advance and frozen.
• To make the stew, heat two cups of the fish soup in a saucepan and cook the potatoes in it until they are tender. Drain the potatoes and wrap in foil to keep warm.
• Transfer the fish soup used for the potatoes to a three-quart saucepan and place the mussels and clams in it. Steam the mussels and clams, covered, until they just open. Remove from the heat and keep covered.
• Place the remaining fish soup in a saucepan just large enough to hold all the rest of the seafood. Heat to just barely simmering, add the remaining seafood and cook until just done, removing each type of seafood to a warm dish as it is cooked.
• To serve the bouillabaisse, divide the potato rounds among four shallow, warmed soup plates. Arrange the cooked fish over the potatoes, then divide the mussels and clams, with the top shells removed, among the four plates.
• Stir some of the soup used to poach the seafood into the rouille, then wisk the rouille back into the soup. Bring to barely simmering, then pour over the seafood in the plates and serve with croutons.

Steps:

• Set a large Dutch oven over medium-high heat, and heat 2 tablespoons of the olive oil until shimmering. Add the fennel and onions, and cook, until the vegetables are softened, about 3 minutes. Stir in the garlic and saffron, and cook until fragrant, about 1 minute. Deglaze with the white wine and licorice liqueur, scraping up any browned bits. Reduce the liquid until it's almost completely evaporated. Then add the tomatoes, fish stock, thyme and bay leaf. Add the potatoes, bring to a boil and cook until just tender, about 10 minutes. Add the clams and mussels and simmer for another 3 minutes to give them a head start. Add the shrimp, simmering until the shellfish open, a final 2 minutes. Discard any unopened shellfish.
• Bring a large nonstick saute pan to medium-high heat and add the remaining oil. Pat the halibut fillets dry with a paper towel and sprinkle both sides generously with salt and pepper. Once the oil begins to smoke lightly, sear the halibut. Cook until the bottom is golden and crispy, 4 to 5 minutes on the first side. Flip and finish cooking for 1 to 2 minutes on the second side. Remove the fish from pan, keep warm and set aside.
• To serve, place each halibut fillet in the bottom of a shallow serving bowl. Arrange a few potatoes, shrimp, clams and mussels around the fish in each bowl. Ladle broth into the bowls. Garnish with parsley, scallions, a few fennel fronds and lemon wedges. Serve immediately with Garlicky Rouille.
• Peel the potatoes and rough chop. Place the potato, red pepper and garlic into the bowl of a food processor and pulse until just coarsely chopped. Add the mayonnaise, lemon juice and sweet paprika. Process until smooth and creamy. Season with cayenne and salt to taste. Cover and place in the refrigerator for 10 to 15 minutes to chill and allow the flavors to come together.

Steps:

• For the shrimp stock: In a large saucepan over high heat, heat the oil until almost smoking. Add the shrimp shells and tails, onion, carrot and celery and saute, stirring occasionally, for 5 minutes. Add the wine and cook until reduced by half, then add 10 cups of cold water, the tomatoes, parsley, bay leaf and peppercorns. Bring to a boil, reduce the heat to medium low and simmer, skimming the surface occasionally, for 40 minutes.
• Strain the stock through a strainer lined with cheesecloth into a large bowl, pressing on the solids to extract as much liquid as possible; discard the solids. The stock can be made 2 days in advance and stored tightly covered in the refrigerator, or frozen up to 3 months.
• For the tomato aioli: Combine the mayonnaise, anchovies, tomato powder, tomato paste, green onion, lemon juice, lemon zest, salt and pepper in a small bowl. Cover and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes to allow the flavors to meld.
• For the broth: Heat the oil in a large, high-sided saute pan over high heat and cook the fennel and onion until they begin to soften. Add the pastis and cook until reduced by half, about 5 minutes. Add the tomatoes, saffron, chile flakes and 2 cups of the shrimp stock. Bring to a boil, add the garlic and cook until reduced by half, about 10 minutes. Add 4 more cups of shrimp stock, reduce the heat and cook until the flavors meld and the broth reduces slightly, about 20 minutes. Strain the shrimp-tomato broth into a large bowl, discard the solids, pour the liquid back into the high-sided saute pan and set aside.
• For the anchovy butter: Put the anchovies and butter in a bowl and mix until combined. Season with salt and pepper, cover and refrigerate until cold, at least 20 minutes.
• For the seafood: Heat 2 tablespoons of the oil in a large saute pan over high heat. Season the scallops on both sides with salt and pepper. Sear the scallops on one side until golden brown, about 2 minutes, then turn over and cook for 30 seconds. Remove to a baking sheet.
• Add another tablespoon of the oil to the pan and season both sides of the halibut fillets with salt and pepper. Sear on one side until golden brown, then turn over and cook for 30 seconds. Remove to the baking sheet with the scallops.
• Heat the remaining tablespoon of oil in the large saute pan, season the shrimp with salt and pepper and sear until the shells become lightly golden brown, about 1 1/2 minutes per side. Deglaze the pan with 1 cup of the reserved shrimp-tomato broth. Transfer the liquid to the remaining shrimp-tomato broth in the high-sided saute pan.
• Heat the shrimp-tomato broth over high heat. Add the mussels, cover and cook until they open, about 2 minutes. Remove the mussels to the baking sheet with a slotted spoon and discard any that did not open.
• Add the seared seafood and lobster tails to the shrimp-tomato broth, cover and let cook for 2 minutes.
• To serve: Add the anchovy butter to the broth and cook until thickened; stir in the parsley, tarragon and lemon zest. Top each baguette slice with a large dollop of tomato aioli and garnish with chives. Divide the seafood and broth among 6 large, slightly shallow soup bowls. Top each with a tomato aioli crouton and garnish with more parsley or tarragon or chives, if desired.