Bouillabaisse

Bouillabaisse
Makes 8 to 10 portions
Bouillabaisse in a classic seafood soup, traditionally serve with Croûtes & Rouille. The key to this delicious dish is all the fresh seafood, if you can’t find the fish listed here feel free to substitute your favorite fish or shellfish, just remember that the fish should be firm white fish which have more delicate flavors and will hold up better during cooking. If you’ve never cleaned fish before it might be a wise decision to ask you fish monger to do it for you or show you how. As for the mussels, a great way to get out any sand that my be in them-which you don’t want in your soup-is to place a handful of flour into a bowl of room temperature water and allow the mussels to soak for a few minutes. The mussels will drink in the water and flour mixture and release and sand that might be in them with the flour mixture back into the bowl. It is always a good idea to scrub the shells of your clams and mussels under running water with a firm bristled brush. Open shellfish should close up if you gently tap their shell; any that remain open need to be discarded.

1/2 cup good quality olive oil
1 1/2 cups leeks, well rinsed, coarsely chopped
1 cup yellow onions, finely chopped
2 cups canned concentrated tomato purée
3 cups chopped fresh tomatoes
2 tablespoons dried thyme
1/2 cup chopped flat-leaf parsley
2 bay leaves
2 cups white wine
4 cups fish stock
salt and fresh ground pepper, to taste
6 tablespoons unsalted butter, room temperature
2 teaspoons all purpose flour
1 1/2 teaspoons whole saffron
2 quarts fresh mussels, scrubbed and de-bearded
48 cherrystone clams, scrubbed
3 pounds skinless firm white fish steaks, like bass, snapper or cod, cut into cubes
36 raw shrimp, shelled and de-veined
4 lobster tails, fresh or defrosted, shelled and halved crosswise
Croûtes & Rouille

Heat the olive oil in a large soup pot over medium heat. Add the leeks and onions and cook, covered, until the vegetables are tender and lightly colored, about 25 minutes stirring occasionally.

Add the tomato purée, tomatoes, thyme, parsley, bay leaves, wine, fish stock, and salt and pepper. Simmer to blend the flavors, 20 minutes. (The soup can be prepared several hours ahead to this point. Return to a simmer before proceeding.)

Blend the flour and butter together in a bowl and whisk the mixture into the soup.

Add the saffron, mussels, and clams and simmer for 5 minutes. (Shells will begin to open.) Add the fish, shrimp, and lobster tails, cover and simmer until all the shellfish are opened, about another 5 minutes. Do not over cook. Remove any shellfish that has not opened and discard.

Ladle into hot soup plate, garnish with Croûtes & Rouille. Serve immediately.