Immerse yourself in the culinary legacy of British Columbia and discover the exquisite flavors of the region's unique take on bouillabaisse, a classic French seafood stew. With its abundance of fresh seafood, locally grown vegetables, and tantalizing herbs, British Columbia offers a distinctive interpretation of this iconic dish that is sure to delight your palate. Embark on a culinary journey and explore the diverse recipes crafted by renowned chefs and home cooks alike, each offering a unique twist on this beloved seafood stew, while still staying true to the essence of the classic.
Here are our top 5 tried and tested recipes!
BOUILLABAISSE
Steps:
- For the shrimp stock: In a large saucepan over high heat, heat the oil until almost smoking. Add the shrimp shells and tails, onion, carrot and celery and saute, stirring occasionally, for 5 minutes. Add the wine and cook until reduced by half, then add 10 cups of cold water, the tomatoes, parsley, bay leaf and peppercorns. Bring to a boil, reduce the heat to medium low and simmer, skimming the surface occasionally, for 40 minutes.
- Strain the stock through a strainer lined with cheesecloth into a large bowl, pressing on the solids to extract as much liquid as possible; discard the solids. The stock can be made 2 days in advance and stored tightly covered in the refrigerator, or frozen up to 3 months.
- For the tomato aioli: Combine the mayonnaise, anchovies, tomato powder, tomato paste, green onion, lemon juice, lemon zest, salt and pepper in a small bowl. Cover and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes to allow the flavors to meld.
- For the broth: Heat the oil in a large, high-sided saute pan over high heat and cook the fennel and onion until they begin to soften. Add the pastis and cook until reduced by half, about 5 minutes. Add the tomatoes, saffron, chile flakes and 2 cups of the shrimp stock. Bring to a boil, add the garlic and cook until reduced by half, about 10 minutes. Add 4 more cups of shrimp stock, reduce the heat and cook until the flavors meld and the broth reduces slightly, about 20 minutes. Strain the shrimp-tomato broth into a large bowl, discard the solids, pour the liquid back into the high-sided saute pan and set aside.
- For the anchovy butter: Put the anchovies and butter in a bowl and mix until combined. Season with salt and pepper, cover and refrigerate until cold, at least 20 minutes.
- For the seafood: Heat 2 tablespoons of the oil in a large saute pan over high heat. Season the scallops on both sides with salt and pepper. Sear the scallops on one side until golden brown, about 2 minutes, then turn over and cook for 30 seconds. Remove to a baking sheet.
- Add another tablespoon of the oil to the pan and season both sides of the halibut fillets with salt and pepper. Sear on one side until golden brown, then turn over and cook for 30 seconds. Remove to the baking sheet with the scallops.
- Heat the remaining tablespoon of oil in the large saute pan, season the shrimp with salt and pepper and sear until the shells become lightly golden brown, about 1 1/2 minutes per side. Deglaze the pan with 1 cup of the reserved shrimp-tomato broth. Transfer the liquid to the remaining shrimp-tomato broth in the high-sided saute pan.
- Heat the shrimp-tomato broth over high heat. Add the mussels, cover and cook until they open, about 2 minutes. Remove the mussels to the baking sheet with a slotted spoon and discard any that did not open.
- Add the seared seafood and lobster tails to the shrimp-tomato broth, cover and let cook for 2 minutes.
- To serve: Add the anchovy butter to the broth and cook until thickened; stir in the parsley, tarragon and lemon zest. Top each baguette slice with a large dollop of tomato aioli and garnish with chives. Divide the seafood and broth among 6 large, slightly shallow soup bowls. Top each with a tomato aioli crouton and garnish with more parsley or tarragon or chives, if desired.
TRADITIONAL BOUILLABAISSE
What goes into a traditional bouillabaisse? That depends on whom you ask. But a pot typically includes at least four kinds of fish -- some firm and some soft -- as well as fennel, garlic, olive oil, onion, parsley, saffron, and tomatoes.
Provided by Martha Stewart
Categories Food & Cooking Ingredients Seafood Recipes Shrimp Recipes
Number Of Ingredients 22
Steps:
- Marinate fish: Stir together saffron and pastis; set aside. Stir together sliced fennel, 1/4 cup fronds, and 2 tablespoons garlic. Divide fennel mixture between two 9-by-13-inch nonreactive baking dishes. Cut fish into uniform portions, each 4 to 5 inches long and 2 to 3 inches wide. Generously season with salt. Put thick pieces in one baking dish and thin ones in the other. (They will be poached in separate batches later.) Pour 2 tablespoons pastis mixture and 1/4 cup oil into each dish; turn fish to coat. Cover; marinate in refrigerator 2 hours, turning once.
- Meanwhile, prepare stock: Cover fish heads and bones with cold water; let soak. Heat remaining 1/4 cups oil in a tall, 10-quart stockpot (that includes a steamer basket for later use) over medium heat until hot but not smoking. Add onion, leeks, celery, chopped fennel, 1 tablespoon salt, and remaining garlic. Cook, stirring, until translucent, about 7 minutes.
- Add tomato paste; stir well. Stir in 2 cups wine, remaining pastis mixture, orange zest, and juice. Tie together bay leaves, parsley, thyme, and rosemary sprigs with kitchen string; add to pot. Stir broth. Bring to a boil.
- Drain and rinse fish heads and bones; add to pot. Pour in 10 cups cold water (liquid should come to within 3 inches of rim of pot). Bring to a boil; let boil for 10 minutes. Skim foam from surface.
- Reduce heat to medium-high. Stir in tomatoes. Cook until stock is slightly reduced, about 20 minutes. Raise heat to high; boil until olive oil binds with liquids, 20 to 30 minutes. Meanwhile, bring marinated fish to room temperature.
- Steam shellfish: Put mussels and shrimp in a large, shallow pot (steaming the shrimp in their shells enhances their flavor). Add 1/2 cup wine and 1/4 cup fennel fronds; cover. Cook over high heat until shrimp are pink and cooked through and mussels are open (check pot frequently after 4 minutes). Transfer cooked shellfish with a slotted spoon to a large bowl (after 7 minutes, discard any mussels that remain closed); reserve pot. Cover bowl with foil.
- Pass stock through a food mill: Using tongs or a slotted spoon, lift out heads and large bones; discard. Discard herbs. In batches, pass stock through a food mill set over the pot of shellfish juices, extracting as much liquid as possible. (If you don't have a food mill, pass stock through a fine sieve, firmly pressing on solids with the back of a ladle.) Discard solids.
- Pass broth through a chinois or a fine sieve into stockpot. Press on solids; discard. Reserve 1/2 cup broth for rouille.
- Cook potatoes: Bring broth to a boil. Place potatoes in steamer basket; submerge in broth. Reduce heat to medium; cook until tender, about 8 minutes. Transfer to a serving platter; cover with foil.
- Cook fish: Return broth to a boil. Place thick fish pieces in basket; submerge in broth. Reduce heat to low. Poach until cooked through, about 6 minutes. Transfer to platter; cover with foil. Return broth to a boil; place thin fish pieces in basket; submerge in broth. Reduce heat to low; poach until cooked through, 4 to 5 minutes. Transfer to platter; pour any juices from platter and shellfish bowl into broth. Cover fish and shellfish with foil.
- Pass broth through a chinois or fine sieve into a serving bowl. Press on solids with a ladle; discard solids.
- Serve: Ladle about 3/4 cup broth into each bowl. Serve with rouille-topped croutons. Follow with fish and potatoes, served with any remaining broth.
BOUILLABAISSE
This simply prepared fish stew is a classic French recipe from Marseilles. Serve with a slice of hot toast topped with a spoonful of rouille.
Provided by Mary Young
Categories Soups, Stews and Chili Recipes Soup Recipes Seafood
Time 40m
Yield 12
Number Of Ingredients 15
Steps:
- Heat the olive oil in a large saucepan, and add the onions, leeks, chopped tomatoes, and garlic. Cook and stir over a low heat for a few minutes until all vegetables are soft.
- Stir in the fennel, thyme, bay leaf, and orange zest. Add shellfish and boiling water; stir to combine. Season to taste with salt and black pepper. Turn up the heat to high, and boil for about 3 minutes to allow the oil and water to combine.
- Add fish, and reduce the heat to medium. Continue cooking for 12 to 15 minutes, or until fish is cooked. The fish should be opaque and tender, but still firm. Fish should not be falling apart.
- Taste the bouillabaisse and adjust the seasoning. Stir in saffron, and then pour soup into a warmed tureen or soup dishes. Serve immediately.
Nutrition Facts : Calories 365.3 calories, Carbohydrate 6 g, Cholesterol 124.5 mg, Fat 18 g, Fiber 1 g, Protein 42.9 g, SaturatedFat 3 g, Sodium 202.9 mg, Sugar 2.3 g
BOUILLABAISSE
Make this classic French fish soup at a dinner party for friends and family. It's a challenge, but will make an impressive starter or main course
Provided by Barney Desmazery
Categories Dinner, Fish Course, Lunch, Main course, Soup, Starter
Time 2h
Number Of Ingredients 29
Steps:
- To make the croutons heat oven to 200C/180C fan/gas 6. Lay the slices of bread on a flat baking tray in a single layer, drizzle with olive oil and bake for 15 mins until golden and crisp. Set aside - can be made a day ahead and kept in an airtight container.
- Use a layer of the green part of the leek to wrap around and make a herb bundle with the thyme, bay, parsley stalks, orange peel and chilli. Tie everything together with kitchen string and set aside.
- Heat the oil in a very large casserole dish or stock pot and throw in the onion, sliced leek and fennel and cook for about 10 mins until softened. Stir through the garlic and cook for 2 mins more, then add the herb bundle, tomato purée, star anise, Pernod if using, chopped tomatoes and saffron. Simmer and stir for a minute or two then pour over the fish stock. Season with salt and pepper, bring to a simmer, then add the piece of potato. Bubble everything gently for 30 mins until you have a thin tomatoey soup. When that piece of potato is on the brink of collapse, fish it out and set aside to make the rouille.
- While the broth is simmering make the rouille by crushing the garlic, chilli and saffron with a pinch of salt in a mortar with a pestle. Mash in the cooked potato to make a sticky paste then whisk in the egg yolk and, very gradually, the olive oil until you make a mayonnaise-like sauce. Stir in the lemon juice and set aside.
- Once the chunky tomato broth has cooked you have two options: for a rustic bouillabaisse, simply poach your fish in it along with the mussels, if you're using (just until they open) and serve. For a refined version, remove the herb bundle and star anise. Using a handheld or table-top blender, blitz the soup until smooth. Pass the soup through a sieve into a large, clean pan and bring to a gentle simmer. Starting with the densest fish, add the chunks to the broth and cook for 1 min before adding the next type. With the fish we used, the order was: monkfish, John Dory, grey mullet, snapper. When all the fish is in, scatter over the mussels, if using, and simmer everything for about 5 mins until just cooked and the mussels have opened.
- Use a slotted spoon to carefully scoop the fish and mussels out onto a warmed serving platter, moisten with just a little broth and scatter over the chopped parsley. Bring everything to the table. Some people eat it as two courses, serving the broth with croutons and rouille first, then the fish spooned into the same bowl. Others simply serve it as a fish stew. Whichever way you choose the rouille is there to be stirred into the broth to thicken and give it a kick.
Nutrition Facts : Calories 608 calories, Fat 33 grams fat, SaturatedFat 5 grams saturated fat, Carbohydrate 26 grams carbohydrates, Sugar 11 grams sugar, Fiber 7 grams fiber, Protein 38 grams protein, Sodium 0.72 milligram of sodium
CANADIAN BOUILLABAISSE
Found this recipe many years ago in a local charity cookbook. It is very easy to put together and can be adapted to taste. Has always been well received by guests and family. We do omit the fennel because of our tastes.
Provided by waynejohn1234
Categories < 60 Mins
Time 1h
Yield 6 serving(s)
Number Of Ingredients 17
Steps:
- Heat oil over medium heat in a stainless steel saucepan.
- Add celery, onion, green onions and garlic.
- Cook five minutes until soft.
- Stir in thyme, fennel, orange peel, tomatoes, wine, chicken stock, bay leaf and cayenne.
- Simmer, covered, about 25 minutes Stir occasionally, breaking up tomatoes.
- About 20 minutes before serving, add haddock, cut in pieces, scallops and shrimp.
- Simmer about 15 minutes.
- Remove peel and bay leaf. Serve.
Nutrition Facts : Calories 271.5, Fat 3.1, SaturatedFat 0.6, Cholesterol 127.2, Sodium 590, Carbohydrate 18.2, Fiber 3.4, Sugar 8, Protein 35.4
Tips:
- Make sure to use fresh seafood for the best flavor.
- Don't be afraid to experiment with different types of fish and shellfish.
- Be careful not to overcook the seafood, or it will become tough.
- Serve the bouillabaisse immediately, with crusty bread or rice.
- Garnish the bouillabaisse with fresh herbs, such as parsley, basil, or thyme.
Conclusion:
British Columbia bouillabaisse is a delicious and easy-to-make seafood stew that showcases the freshest catches of the day. With just a few simple ingredients, you can create a flavorful and memorable meal that will impress your family and friends. So next time you're looking for a special occasion dish, give British Columbia bouillabaisse a try.
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