A soup story: The classic bouillabaisse

MILLIE: As a single mom not blessed with a partner in life, my greatest blessing is having a dad to care for. At his present age of 87 years, Daddy Joe is healthy and still has a sharp mind, thinking up business ventures even while I’m saying, “Stop! No more! Just enjoy life!”

Reminiscing over his days in Paris in 1949, just after the war, Dad was fortunate to have traveled with his best friend Filemon Lim, who has since passed on.  Dad vividly recounts his introduction to French cuisine and the Parisian nightlife with an army colonel as tourist guide. Thus he acquired a taste and an appetite for escargots, Belon oysters, and his favorite dish, the classic bouillabaisse.

The origin of the bouillabaisse is the port city of Marseille. The dish was known as a “fisherman’s dish” which traditionally included the freshest catch of the day: fish, crabs and shellfish but none of the expensive seafood like lobster or sea bass.

KARLA: I was lucky to have learned how to prepare the dish from scratch with master chef Alain Sailhac in New York last year. I automatically thought of my Lolo Joe and how happy it would make him. On first glance at the list of ingredients, bouillabaisse seemed like a simple dish. Later on,  I realized, how long and intricate the process was. Unlike my mom, I do not speak fluent French and have, therefore, always wondered what bouillabaisse meant. It means “to boil and lower the heat,” and we did exactly just that.

According to chef Alain, bouillabaisse was not an expensive dish 75 years ago. It’s quite the opposite of today since we all know there are very few restaurants that serve classic French dishes, plus the fact that it is important to serve fresh seafood for this particular dish. Fine dining restaurants in France often serve the soup in a saucepan, placed at the tableside.

MILLIE: Whenever there’s a special occasion or whenever there’s a reason to celebrate, what comes to my Daddy Joe’s mind is Le Soufflé because of their excellent bouillabaisse. It seems to be the only restaurant in town that serves it.

One evening, at Dad’s request, we dined at chef Jessie Sincioco’s newest restaurant Enchante on ADB Avenue. To Dad’s disappointment, his favorite dish was not on the menu. But we were lucky as chef Jessie was  in, and she  gladly  obliged to prepare the dish herself, much to my dad’s delight! It was nice to see him eat it with gusto, bib and all!

KARLA SHARES A RECIPE: Executive vice president and senior dean of Programs of the French Culinary Institute in New York, chef Alain Sailhac shares his recipe of La Bouillabaisse. Bon Appetit!

Bouillabaise

Serves 20

Ingredients:

For the soup:

1 cup olive oil

5 lbs. red snapper head; remove the gills and eyes, cut in two and soak in water overnight.

5 lbs. sea bass, same process as snapper

5 lbs. lobster body (head removed), cut in half lengthwise, remove sand and roe, wash with cold water and roast for 8 minutes at 400°F

1 lb. shrimp (16/20 pieces), remove shells and save, keep the shrimp in the fridge

1 onion, chopped

1 fennel bulb

2 leeks, washed, trimmed, and chopped

4 shallots, peeled and chopped finely

1 garlic head, peeled and crushed

1⁄4 cup tomato paste

2 lbs. tomatoes, fresh and very ripe, cut into chunks

A few sprigs of fresh thyme, 2 anise stars, 1 teaspoon crushed anise seed (all in a cheesecloth bag)

1⁄2 gallon white wine

2 shots of Pernod or Ricard

1 small bunch of clean parsley cut finely

1 tablespoon saffron threads

zest of one orange

zest of one lemon

salt and pepper

Cayenne pepper

old Bay seasoning

 For the bouillabaisse:

4 lbs. of striped bass fillets, cut into 1 oz. chunks

4 lbs. of red snapper fillets, cut into 1 oz. chunks

3 lbs. of monkfish fillets, cut into 1⁄2 oz.chunks

2 lbs. of eel, skinned and cut into 1⁄2 oz. chunks

2 lbs. of grouper fillet, cut into 1 oz.chunks

2 lbs. of South Atlantic or Caraibe Red mullet fillets, cut into 1⁄2 oz. chunks

Surf clams (according to the market)

Maine lobster (according the season)

 For the garnish:

10 tomatoes, skin and seeds removed then dice into small pieces

4 leeks cleaned and cut into 2-inch julienne. Cook slowly in olive oil

4 fennel bulbs cut into 2-inch julienne; cook slowly in olive oil

1 cup olive oil

3 garlic cloves peeled, crushed, and finely chopped

1⁄2 cup chopped basil

1⁄2 cup Pernod or Ricard

 For the rouille:

8 garlic cloves, green germ removed

1 slice of firm white bread

1 potato, 8 ounces cooked in water and peeled

1 cup fish soup, as above 5 egg yolks

1 dash cayenne pepper

1 tablespoon saffron

1 cup olive oil

Salt

For the croutons:

1 baguette, cut into slices on the bias

1⁄4 cup olive oil

3 garlic cloves, peeled

 Procedure:

For the soup:

1. Heat 1 cup of olive oil in a 3-gallon shallow sauté pan

2. Cook the onions, leeks, fennel, and shallots until translucent, about five minutes, making sure not to give any color. Add the garlic and stir for a minute.

3. Add lobster body, all head and fish bones and shrimp shells. Cook for five minutes.

4. Add tomato paste, and stir for one minute.

5. Add fresh tomatoes and stir for one minute.

6. Add Pernod or Ricard and the white wine, then boil for five minutes.

7. Add the thyme, anise star, anise seed and the parsley.

8. Add 1 tablespoon of Old Bay spice, a touch of cayenne pepper, salt, pepper, saffron, and the zest of the orange and lemon.

9. Add 1⁄2 gallon of the cold water and boil the soup for 20 minutes.

10. Using a blender, chop and reduce to a purée then blend all ingredients until smooth.

11. Strain the fish in a container and bring to a boil. Season to taste and keep in a bain-marie (or double-boiler) until ready to serve.

 For the rouille:

1. Put garlic and bread in a food processor for about 2 minutes until finely chopped. Add cooked potatoes (warm) and process again.

2. Add egg yolks and the fish soup.

3. Add olive oil in a thin, steady stream.

4. Add saffron, cayenne pepper, and salt.

 For the croutons:

1. Brush the baguette slices with raw garlic and olive oil.

2. Toast for a few minutes in a 420°F oven or until they are a golden color.

 For the bouillabaisse & garnish:

1. Mix all the fish for the bouillabaisse (except for the lobster and clams) with the ingredients for the garnish (except for tomatoes and basil).

2. When the bouillabaisse is ready to be served, warm up some soup in a small, shallow saucepan. Add one piece of each fish into the fish soup. Bring to a boil then stop cooking as soon as it starts to boil.

3. Put clams and a chunk of raw lobster on top of the fish. Cover and leave for 4-5 minutes or until the clams open and the lobster is warm. Add basil and tomatoes on top.

4. Carefully scoop the fish and soup into a hot china bowl.

5. Serve the croutons and the rouille on the side.

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Enchanté by Chef Jessie Sincioco  at the 3/F, Oakwood Premier Joy Nostalge Center, 17 ADB Avenue, Ortigas Center, Pasig City. Call 470-4828 for reservations.

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Send e-mail to milliereyes.foodforthought @gmail.com and karla@swizzlemobilebar.com. Find us on facebook: Food for Thought by Millie & Karla Reyes.