Now you're talking, Paul! As long as you're going to all that trouble, put a couple of quarts in the mail for me.
Willie
What's this - another recipe? - I can't help myself.
SEAFOOD - MARSEILLE BOUILLABAISSE
Fish & Seafood lovers - here's an excellent recipe for bouillabaisse which will more than satisfy all your seafood cravings on any cool fall evening, or truly anytime.
This fish stew is normally served with thick slices of fresh baguette bread, either plain, buttered, or lightly toasted, to sop up the wonderful tasting broth.
Some fish & seafood can be relatively expensive, so I'll try to stick with some of the less costly types of fish and shellfish ( with some higher cost items which some of you may prefer to use as substitutes if your wallet permits - if applicable, these will be listed below the choices, in parentheses).
This recipe is for 2 persons, so be guided accordingly
.
IMO, this dish is a top of the line fine dining restaurant menu item - it's not inexpensive overall for the ingredients combined, but it'll be a lot less than you'd pay for many menu items in any fine dining establishment.
Ingredients:
Fish: (Fresh or thawed if previously frozen)
- 2- 3 medium-sized fillets or pieces of either monkfish, snapper, haddock, pollock, tilapia, catfish, or ling cod.
Get as firm a whitefish as is available, and try to avoid flakier fish like black cod or sole.
(More costly, but excellent fish to use - e.g. halibut or swordfish)
Shellfish: ( Fresh or thawed if previously frozen)
- 10-12 jumbo prawns (shelled & sliced in half)
- 6-8 jumbo sea scallops ( small side muscle removed, and sliced in half)
- 3 dozen or more mussels (clean-up rinsed & beards removed, if evident)
- 2-3 dozen medium-sized clams (clean-up rinsed)
( If budget permits, 1 large or 2 small lobster tails - sliced up into bite-size portions)
Broth Ingredients:
(Use a large dutch oven or deep soup pot, or other similar large stovetop vessel)
- 2-3 tablespoons of olive oil & a similar amount of butter in which to lightly saute the following items until partially cooked/opaque - 3-4 minutes @ medium heat
- 1 large thinly sliced shallot - about 1/8" to 1/4" thickness (or 2 small shallots)
- 1 medium carrot, peeled & julienned into thin slivers approx. 1/4" thick X 2" long
- 1 celery stick, thinly sliced - 1/4" thickness
- 1/2 small red or other colored bell pepper, julienned of similar size to the carrot
- 1 leek, thinly sliced - 1/4" thickness (optional)
- 3-4 garlic cloves - thinly sliced, or diced
- 1 small fennel bulb, slivered top to bottom in 1/4" thickness (bottom core removed so it will come apart like onion rings)
(Note: the fennel bulb may be omitted, IF 1/3 cup of anise flavored liquor is available -e.g. pernod, ouzo, or sambucca; or alternatively, use 1 teaspoon of ground fennel - see below) -
- At this point, also add 4-5 pieces of 1" to 2" long strips of orange peel.
Use a potato peeler to strip these off an orange, taking up as little of the bitter white pith as possible - these strips can be removed later when they have infused their flavor into the broth, following the simmering outlined below.
- ( Also, If you have it available, a large pinch of saffron soaked in your white wine for a bit before adding it per below, will add some nice flavor too)
Followed by adding, for low simmering up to 1/2 hour or more: ( more or less in the chronological order below)
- 1/2 to 3/4 cup white wine, & the 1/3 cup of anise flavored liqueur, if using
- 3/4 cup of either fish stock, or clam juice ( 1 partial small can of either will work)
- The squeezed juice of that 1 orange from which you have removed the zest strips
- 1 - 36 - 40 oz. can of tomato sauce
- 2 tablespoons of tomato paste
- 1/4 teaspoon of pepper flakes
- 1/2 teaspoon of sugar-
- 1 teaspoon each of basil & thyme, and 1/2 tspn. oregano
- 1/3 cup approx. of chopped parsley
- 1-2 bay leaves (removed later before adding fish & shellfish)
- Salt & pepper to taste (white pepper if you have it)
After simmering for up to 1/2 hour or more, and approx. 10-15 minutes before serving time, turn heat up to medium and add the fish & shellfish, in the stated order:
- Fish fillets first, followed soon by the prawns & scallops, and the lobster tail meat if using, simmer for approx. 5- 7 minutes , add the mussels & clams last, then cover the pot & cook for another 5 minutes or so, until all the shells have opened.
Lightly stir broth & serve in shallow soup bowls, along with the sliced french bread baguette.
This fantastic fish stew will warm your heart and liven your spirits - it's definitely one of my top 5 most satisfying soul food meals !
I think you'll want to add it to your list of 'must make'- 3 or 4 times a year at least.
( If I was on death row, this might be my request for my last meal. LOL)
ENJOY !
Last edited by discuspaul; 09-28-2018 at 06:58 PM.
Now you're talking, Paul! As long as you're going to all that trouble, put a couple of quarts in the mail for me.
Willie
At my age, everything is irritating.
Better yet - come & visit Vancouver - I'll make it for you!
You're welcome any time.
BTW, I'm making it tonite for din-din.
I'll take a pic to post up here later, when Pat finds the time to instruct me on how to do it.
Last edited by discuspaul; 09-28-2018 at 06:54 PM.
Oh man, this sounds good
Pat
Your discus are talking to you....are you listening
This recipe is real easy to put together and takes no time at all - for any seafood lovers, this is a 'must make' - it can be as much 'gourmet-ish' as you want, or easier on the budget, depending on what combined ingredients are selected.
Any variety of fish or shellfish will impart the taste of the sea that's so essential to a stew like this, but it's the broth that is the real secret here - the combination of tomato-orange-licorice flavors is unique and gives it a 'life' that's hard to find in any other dishes.
You must give it a try - you'll wish you'd made it a lot sooner - and I can pretty much guarantee you'll give it a 'wow' rating !
Last edited by discuspaul; 09-30-2018 at 10:36 PM.
Last edited by discuspaul; 10-01-2018 at 12:35 PM.
Looks delicious! I'm gunna give it a go this weekend..
You live in Vancouver BC?
Glad to hear you're going to give this dish a try - it's absolutely delish !
Specifically, I live close to the Surrey- Langley border line - near Hwy # 10 & 192 nd St.,
When I made this dish a week or so ago, I found all the needed fish & shellfish ingredients at Safeway in Willowbrook Mall - but perhaps you know of another place to get the seafood a bit less costly.
Safeway bakers do make (fresh daily) the best French baguettes you can find anywhere.
Let us know how it turns out for you.
Last edited by discuspaul; 10-10-2018 at 11:12 AM.
If you can't find all the seafood you're looking for, locally in & around Langley, I suggest you try the Fresh Street Farms Supermarket in the shopping center on the north west corner of Hwy # 10 and 152nd St., in Surrey.
They have a large, very good fresh & frozen fish & shellfish section with a lot of variety, and their prices are less than Safeway's.
You are making my mouth water! Looks so delicious!
Patty
If the discus are happy, I’m happy
If you like seafood, Patty - you must give this a try ! It'll no doubt turn out to be the best seafood dish you ever made !
If the recipe seems long to you, it's just because I try to explain everything very carefully, to ensure anyone does it properly, for the best taste & result.
The ingredients are few and not varied, and besides the fish and shellfish, and possibly the anise flavored liqueur, are inexpensive and something that many home kitchens would have on hand anyway.
Make yourself a list - get what you need - follow it one step at a time as explained - and you'd put this all together in far less than an hour on a Saturday or Sunday afternoon.
I made it for my sons 2nd birthday today! It was delicious! He are 10 shrimps and 3 mussels and a piece of fish and slurpee up the sauce!
We live in Victoria!
Cheers!
P.S if you know of a good place to order discus from in Canada let me know...Canadian aqua farm is moving location so no stock... Used to go to king eds and get stock back in the day..
Glad you liked the bouillabaisse.
Besides Canadian Aqua Farm here locally in and around Vancouver, the only place I'm aware of to get healthy discus is April's Aquarium (April Ross) on Hastings St. She doesn't have them all the time though, so give her a call to see if she has some in stock, or when she expects to have some on hand.
If you want to order some online from another part of the country, there are a few other good sources in Canada, mainly in or near the Toronto Ontario area. Let me know and I'll dig up some names for you.
Ya that would be great if you could dig up a few for me... I've been talking to bob from upper canada discus... He doesn't have too much stock right now.... I'm looking for sub adults/ adults
Here's one in Alberta that you could check out:
http://albertaaquatica.com/index.php...5373-about-us/
It's been a while since I referred a few names of discus sellers in or near the greater Toronto area to interested discus buyers, and it appears 2 of the ones I was thinking of are seemingly out of business/no website available - I'll keep looking.
Meanwhile, there's an apparent Stendker quality discus importer in Quebec who ships across the country called Discus Paradise (I believe it's in Pointe-aux Trembles, a Montreal suburb). Google the name - the link will come up.