Spinach Bouillabaisse Recipes

Steps:

• Bring the water to a boil in a large pot. Add 1 T salt and the spinach. Blanch just until wilted, less than a minute. Using a slotted spoon, transfer the spinach to a bowl of cold water. Let sit for a couple of minutes, drain, and squeeze out the water. Chop coarsely and set aside. Measure out 6 c of the cooking water and set aside.
• Heat 1 T olive oil in a large, heavy soup pot over medium heat and add the leeks. Cook, stirring often, until tender and translucent, about 5 minutes, and add the garlic. Cook, stirring, for another minute or so, until fragrant.
• Add the spinach and stir together for a few seconds, then add the potatoes, the 6 c reserved blanching water, and the bouquet garni. Bring to a boil and crumble in the saffron.
• Reduce the heat to a simmer, cover, and simmer for 15 minutes, or until the potatoes are tender. Taste and adjust salt. Add pepper. Discard the bouquet garni.
• Have the soup at a bare simmer. One by one, break each egg into a teacup, then tip into the soup. Poach the eggs for 4-5 minutes, until just set.
• Place a crouton in each bowl and, using a slotted spoon, scoop out a poached egg and place it on top. Ladle the soup into the bowls. Sprinkle on the cheese and drizzle on a little olive oil. Serve.

Steps:

• Make the rouille: Puree the mayonnaise, roasted red peppers, olive oil, lemon juice, garlic and a pinch of salt in a blender until smooth. Transfer to a small bowl; refrigerate until ready to serve.
• Prepare the bouillabaisse: Grate the tomato flesh on the large holes of a box grater down to the skins; reserve the skins separately. Peel and devein the shrimp, reserving the shells and tails for the broth; clean and debeard the mussels. Refrigerate the seafood until ready to use.
• Make the broth: Heat 3 tablespoons olive oil in a large pot over medium-high heat. Add the shrimp shells and tails and cook, stirring, until bright red, about 3 minutes. Stir in the tomato paste until incorporated, about 30 seconds. Add the clam juice, 4 cups water, the reserved tomato skins, the orange zest and 1/4 cup of the sliced fennel. Bring to a boil, then reduce the heat to medium; simmer until the liquid is reduced to about 4 cups, 12 to 15 minutes. Strain the broth through a fine-mesh sieve set over a bowl, pressing on the solids to extract the liquid; reserve the broth.
• Wipe out the pot and heat the remaining 3 tablespoons olive oil over medium heat. Add the remaining fennel, the shallot, garlic and a pinch of salt; partially cover and cook, stirring occasionally, until the fennel begins to soften, about 5 minutes. Add the reserved grated tomato flesh and cook, stirring, until slightly thickened, about 2 minutes. Stir in the saffron, then add the wine and simmer until the liquid is reduced by about two-thirds, about 4 minutes. Add the reserved broth and return to a simmer.
• Add the mussels to the pot; cover and cook 4 minutes. Add any thick pieces of fish and cook, covered, 2 minutes. Add the remaining fish and the shrimp and cook, covered, until the mussels open and the fish and shrimp are just cooked through, 3 to 4 more minutes. (Discard any mussels that do not open.) Season with salt and pepper.
• Spread the baguette with the rouille and serve with the bouillabaisse. Sprinkle with parsley.

Steps:

• Cook the pasta in salted boiling water according to the package instructions. Drain, reserving 2/3 cup of the pasta water, then set aside.
• In a large skillet, melt the butter over medium heat. Add the garlic and crushed red pepper flakes and cook, stirring occasionally, for 2 minutes.
• Add about one-fourth of the cooked pasta to the pan, followed by one-fourth of the spinach, one-fourth of the Parmesan, one-fourth of the lemon juice and one-fourth of the lemon zest, stirring all the time until the spinach has wilted, about 1 minute. Continue this process of adding the ingredients in quarters, with additions of pasta water as needed if the mixture becomes too dry, until the pasta, spinach, Parmesan, lemon juice and lemon zest have all been added.
• Sprinkle over more Parmesan and season with freshly cracked black pepper. Toss until everything is well coated. Taste and adjust the seasonings, as needed.

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:

• In a large saucepan, heat the oil over medium-high heat. Add the tomatoes, onion, carrot, saffron, bay leaf and parsley. Peel and crush 1 garlic clove and add it to the pan. Add the fish, shrimp and lemon juice, season with salt and pepper and boil for 10 minutes. Add the fish broth and wine, bring to a rapid simmer and cook until the fish is just cooked through. Adjust the seasoning, adding more saffron, lemon juice, salt and pepper as desired.
• Rub the toasts with the remaining peeled garlic clove. Set a toast in the bottom of each of 6 bowls and ladle the soup on top.

Steps:

• To make the croutons heat oven to 200C/180C fan/gas 6. Lay the slices of bread on a flat baking tray in a single layer, drizzle with olive oil and bake for 15 mins until golden and crisp. Set aside - can be made a day ahead and kept in an airtight container.
• Use a layer of the green part of the leek to wrap around and make a herb bundle with the thyme, bay, parsley stalks, orange peel and chilli. Tie everything together with kitchen string and set aside.
• Heat the oil in a very large casserole dish or stock pot and throw in the onion, sliced leek and fennel and cook for about 10 mins until softened. Stir through the garlic and cook for 2 mins more, then add the herb bundle, tomato purée, star anise, Pernod if using, chopped tomatoes and saffron. Simmer and stir for a minute or two then pour over the fish stock. Season with salt and pepper, bring to a simmer, then add the piece of potato. Bubble everything gently for 30 mins until you have a thin tomatoey soup. When that piece of potato is on the brink of collapse, fish it out and set aside to make the rouille.
• While the broth is simmering make the rouille by crushing the garlic, chilli and saffron with a pinch of salt in a mortar with a pestle. Mash in the cooked potato to make a sticky paste then whisk in the egg yolk and, very gradually, the olive oil until you make a mayonnaise-like sauce. Stir in the lemon juice and set aside.
• Once the chunky tomato broth has cooked you have two options: for a rustic bouillabaisse, simply poach your fish in it along with the mussels, if you're using (just until they open) and serve. For a refined version, remove the herb bundle and star anise. Using a handheld or table-top blender, blitz the soup until smooth. Pass the soup through a sieve into a large, clean pan and bring to a gentle simmer. Starting with the densest fish, add the chunks to the broth and cook for 1 min before adding the next type. With the fish we used, the order was: monkfish, John Dory, grey mullet, snapper. When all the fish is in, scatter over the mussels, if using, and simmer everything for about 5 mins until just cooked and the mussels have opened.
• Use a slotted spoon to carefully scoop the fish and mussels out onto a warmed serving platter, moisten with just a little broth and scatter over the chopped parsley. Bring everything to the table. Some people eat it as two courses, serving the broth with croutons and rouille first, then the fish spooned into the same bowl. Others simply serve it as a fish stew. Whichever way you choose the rouille is there to be stirred into the broth to thicken and give it a kick.

Steps:

• Heat the olive oil in a large saucepan, and add the onions, leeks, chopped tomatoes, and garlic. Cook and stir over a low heat for a few minutes until all vegetables are soft.
• Stir in the fennel, thyme, bay leaf, and orange zest. Add shellfish and boiling water; stir to combine. Season to taste with salt and black pepper. Turn up the heat to high, and boil for about 3 minutes to allow the oil and water to combine.
• Add fish, and reduce the heat to medium. Continue cooking for 12 to 15 minutes, or until fish is cooked. The fish should be opaque and tender, but still firm. Fish should not be falling apart.
• Taste the bouillabaisse and adjust the seasoning. Stir in saffron, and then pour soup into a warmed tureen or soup dishes. Serve immediately.

Steps:

• Make croutons:
• Put oven rack in middle position and preheat oven to 250°F.
• Arrange bread slices in 1 layer in a shallow baking pan and brush both sides with oil. Bake until crisp, about 30 minutes. Rub 1 side of each toast with a cut side of garlic.
• Make soup:
• Plunge lobster headfirst into a 6- to 8-quart pot of boiling water, then cook, covered, 2 minutes from time lobster enters water. Transfer lobster with tongs to a colander and let stand until cool enough to handle. Discard hot water in pot. Put lobster in a shallow baking pan. Twist off claws with knuckles from body, then crack claws with a mallet or rolling pin and separate claws from knuckles. Halve body and tail lengthwise through shell with kitchen shears, then cut crosswise through shell into 2-inch pieces. Reserve lobster juices that accumulate in baking pan.
• Cook tomatoes, onion, and garlic in oil in cleaned 6- to 8-quart pot over moderate heat, stirring occasionally, until onion is softened, 5 to 7 minutes. Meanwhile, peel potatoes and cut into 1/2-inch cubes. Stir potatoes into tomatoes with fennel fronds, bay leaf, saffron, sea salt, and pepper. Add stock and bring to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer, covered, until potatoes are almost tender, 8 to 10 minutes.
• Add thicker pieces of fish and cockles to soup and simmer, covered, 2 minutes. Stir in mussels, shrimp, lobster, including juices, and remaining fish and simmer, covered, until they are just cooked through and mussels open wide, about 5 minutes.
• Stir 3 tablespoons broth from soup into rouille until blended.
• Arrange 2 croutons in each of 6 to 8 deep soup bowls. Carefully transfer fish and shellfish from soup to croutons with a slotted spoon, then ladle some broth with vegetables over seafood.
• Top each serving with 1 teaspoon rouille and serve remainder on the side.