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

  1. After cleaning and de-shelling your shrimp, cut the fish into 3-inch by 2-inch pieces.
  2. Rinse scallops to remove any sand if necessary.
  3. 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.
  4. 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.
  5. 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.
  6. Evenly spread fresh spinach leaves onto the top of the hot broth
  7. 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.
  8. Take the mixture off the heat, and add the tomatoes. This will slightly cool the mixture and stop the seafood from over-cooking.
  9. Serve in large shallow bowls, and sprinkle each with a little Old Bay seasoning, and a pinch of minced parsley.

 

Enjoy!

craig