Bouillabaisse
Seafood Stew
Bouillabaisse is a fish stew originating from the port city of Marseille, France, which contains Provencal herbs, a mixture of dried herbs typical of the Provence region of southeast France. Herbs de Provence is a popular version of Provencal herbs.
Ingredients
- ½ lb large fresh shrimp, cleaned and deveined with shells removed
- ½ lb red snapper or cod fillets
- ½ lb sea scallops
- 1 lime
- ½ teaspoon Herbs de Provence
- ½ teaspoon Old Bay Seasoning
- 1 large onion
- 1 large stalk of celery
- 1 medium carrot
- 1 medium sweet red pepper
- 1½ Tablespoons olive oil
- 1 cup chicken broth (not stock)
- ½ cup dry white wine (Chardonnay is good)
- ½ teaspoon sugar
- ¼ teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes (optional)
- ½ cup water
- ½ cup fresh spinach leaves, or baby spinach leaves (whole, not chopped)
- 1½ cups chopped fresh vine ripened tomatoes
- 1 Tablespoon minced parsley leaves
Preparing the Dish
- After cleaning and de-shelling your shrimp, cut the fish into 3-inch by 2-inch pieces.
- Rinse scallops to remove any sand if necessary.
- In a large bowl, squeeze the juice from the lime, removing any seeds; stir in the Herbs de Provence, and Old Bay Seasoning. Add the shrimp, fish, and scallops; toss to coat. Set aside.
- Dice your onion, celery, carrots, and sweet red pepper. In an 8-quart saucepot or Dutch oven, over medium heat, cook the chopped onion, celery, carrots, and red pepper in the olive oil, until tender, about 15 minutes, stirring occasionally.
- Add the chicken broth, white wine, sugar, crushed red pepper, and water over high heat. We do not want this mixture to boil, but to almost boil, come to a simmer. If it boils, the broth becomes cloudy. Once the mixture comes to a simmer, just under boiling, reduce the heat to low.
- Evenly spread fresh spinach leaves onto the top of the hot broth
- Place seafood mixture on top of the spinach leaves, and into the hot broth mixture; allow to cook about 5 to 10 minutes, just until the seafood turns opaque, stirring gently.
- Take the mixture off the heat, and add the tomatoes. This will slightly cool the mixture and stop the seafood from over-cooking.
- Serve in large shallow bowls, and sprinkle each with a little Old Bay seasoning, and a pinch of minced parsley.
Enjoy!