Love a fish stew - gonna have to have one now! - well not right now this week sometime
Here's a recipe you can try and create your own unique version of bouillabaisse from this bulk version.
Bouillabaisse.
Ingredients (serves around ten hungry guests)
2 kg assorted fish pieces (cutlets, chunky and thin fillets - check what your fish monger has and ask his advice)
1 kg mussels, cleaned and de-bearded 6 green crabs, cleaned
I green crayfish, any size, cut into chunks
200 gm scallop flesh
20 yabbies
20 whole green prawns or cutlets
2 onions, peeled and chopped
6 cloves of garlic, peeled and chopped
1 tin of peeled and chopped tomatoes
2 leeks, split, washed and roughly chopped (use white part only)
2-3 litres fish stock
a good slurp of olive oil
a handful of parsley, roughly chopped,
plus a few sprigs of dill or fennel, thyme, a bay leaf or two,
and a pinch of saffron
1 glass white wine (Riesling is great)
salt and pepper
a little orange or lemon zest
lots of crusty bread
Method
In a large heavy-based sauce pan or large casserole heat olive oil and lightly cook without colour the onions, leek and garlic for two minutes.
Add tomatoes, then the thickest pieces of fish, crabs, yabbies, cray, prawns, herbs and citrus zest.
Add saffron, salt and pepper and cover with fish stock (see below) and wine. Simmer with lid on for five minutes.
Add scallops, mussels and thinnest pieces of fish (like whiting or herring) and cook for a further seven to ten minutes.
Garnish using a sprinkle of parsley and dill.
Leave in casserole and serve in large bowls with lots of crusty bread.
Serving
The traditional recipe is to pour the broth over the bread, I prefer the dunking method.
Fish Stock
If you are not an angler or it's too wet, cold and blustery to pit your skills against mother nature to catch a feed, then your friendly fish shop proprietor will usually give you some fish bones to make a basic stock.
Fish stock is cheap, easy to make and is used as a base for many healthy body warming wintry dishes. Stock can be thickened with a roux (butter, flour mixed together) to form the base for a creamy chowder, or used to add a delicate full flavour to fish curries, bouillabaisse style mixed seafood dishes or simply used as a broth in my version of Thailand's spicy, clear Tom Yam soup.
Don't be put off by the thought of fishy smells wafting through your kitchen from a bubbling cauldron of fish stock.
Preparing fish stock is easy, takes less than one hour and your feline friends will think they are in cat heaven.
Make the stock in reasonable quantity and use straight away or after straining reduce the stock down by simmering by two-thirds to make a strong flavoured liquid that can be frozen in small containers or ice-cubed and bagged for later use.