The Aussie Gourmet: Bouillabaisse

The Jewish Home | JULY 14, 2022 In The K tchen Bouillabaisse

By Naomi Nachman

I’ve just spent the last week doing cooking demonstrations on the Seine River on a River Cruise Boat Cruise in the Normandy region of France. The company Kosher River Cruises asked me to join the cruise, and I have had an amazing time teaching, seeing the sights of France, and enjoying the crowd on board.

One of the stops on the cruise was to a small fishing village Honfleur. I used the opportunity to teach participants how to prepare bouillabaisse, a fish chowder that is local cuisine and is considered a meal because it’s so thick with vegetables and protein.

According to tradition, there should be at least several kinds of fish in a proper bouillabaisse. The fish should be extremely fresh – caught and cooked the same day. If you cannot get extremely fresh fish, then the next best alternative is quick frozen – fish frozen the same day it was caught. Use a variety of fish as such as fillets of flounder, haddock, cod, perch, white fish, whiting, bass – almost any combination.

A big thank you to Chef Malcolm Green for sharing his recipe with us. Chef Malcolm is the executive chef on Kosher River Cruises.

Ingredients

◦ 3 pounds, at least 3 different kinds of fish fillets, fresh or quick frozen, thawed ◦ ½ cup olive oil ◦ 1-2 lb. thinly sliced onions ◦ 4 shallots, thinly sliced, or the white parts of 2 or 3 leeks, thinly sliced ◦ 2 cloves garlic, crushed ◦ 1 large tomato, chopped, or ½ cup canned tomatoes ◦ 1 sweet red pepper, chopped ◦ 4 stalks celery, thinly sliced ◦ Slice of fennel or 1 teaspoon of fennel seed ◦ 3 sprigs fresh thyme or 3/4 teaspoon dried thyme ◦ 1 bay leaf ◦ 2-3 whole cloves ◦ Zest of half an orange ◦ ½ tsp powdered saffron ◦ 2 tsp salt ◦ ¼ tsp freshly ground black pepper ◦ 1 cup fish broth or parve soup mix ◦ Lemon juice ◦ 2/3 cup white wine ◦ Sliced French bread

Preparation

Heat 1/4 cup of the olive oil in a large (6-qt) saucepan. When it is hot, add onions and shallots (or leeks). Sauté for a minute, then add crushed garlic (more or less to taste), and sweet red pepper. Add tomato, celery, and fennel. Stir the vegetables into the oil until well coated.

Then add another ¼ cup of olive oil, thyme, bay leaf, cloves and the orange zest. Cook until the onion is soft and golden but not brown.

Cut fish fillets into 2-inch pieces. Add the pieces of fish and 2 cups of water to the vegetable mixture. Bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer, uncovered, for about 30 minutes.

Serve with slices of French bread.

Chef’s tip: if needed, you can just use up to 3 pounds of salmon.

Naomi Nachman, the owner of The Aussie Gourmet, caters weekly and Shabbat/ Yom Tov meals for families and individuals within The Five Towns and neighboring communities, with a specialty in Pesach catering. Naomi is a contributing editor to this paper and also produces and hosts her own weekly radio show on the Nachum Segal Network stream called “A Table for Two with Naomi Nachman.” Naomi gives cooking presentations for organizations and private groups throughout the New York/New Jersey Metropolitan area. In addition, Naomi has been a guest host on the QVC TV network and has been featured in cookbooks, magazines as well as other media covering topics related to cuisine preparation and personal chefs. To obtain additional recipes, join The Aussie Gourmet on Facebook or visit Naomi’s blog. Naomi can be reached through her website, www.theaussiegourmet.com or at (516) 295-9669.