Low Country Fish Muddle (Bouillabaise)

I finished up Skills of Meatcutting a few weeks ago, and while I can't say it was my favorite class (the lab was kept at a bone-chilling 38 degrees), I can certainly say I am thankful for the skills I learned. The important thing to take away from meat cutting is that if you know the basics of how to fabricate a piece of meat in it's primal (or whole) form, you can save yourself some big bucks at the grocery store. Our class was lucky enough to get a day devoted to fish fabrication, something I am very pleased to have experience with now.

For example, just recently, I found another delicious recipe from Nathalie Dupree in a new magazine out of Charleston called The Local Palate, which put my newly learned skills to the test. "Low Country Fish Muddle" - or Bouillabaise if you want to get fancy, is a broth-based soup made with whatever fresh seafood is available, usually incorporating a couple fin fish, and a few types of shellfish. I was able to find whole snapper, flounder fillets, fresh mussels and shrimp.

Thanks to my meat cutting class, I was able to make my own fish stock by purchasing a whole snapper, filleting it for the parts I needed to add to the muddle, and then using the bones for the stock. Hard work, but so worth it, and the price as well.

If you're mentally prepared for an afternoon of cooking, this is a great dish to try. I would highly recommend making your own fish stock if you can. It makes all the difference, but it does take time. There is a great video from a Johnson and Wales chef here, on how to fillet a whole fish.

Low Country Fish Muddle (Bouillabaise)

Adapted from Nathalie Dupree

Serves 6 - 8

Ingredients

1/3 c olive oil, divided

7 garlic cloves, finely chopped, divided

large pinch of saffron threads, divided

1.5 - 2 lbs assorted South Atlantic fish, or whatever fresh fish you can find (I used snapper and flounder)

1.5 onions, chopped

1 leek, white part with some green part, sliced

1/2 fennel bulb, including fronds, sliced

1/2 lb diced fresh or canned tomatoes (drained)

grated rind from 1/2 an orange

2 quarts fish stock, preferably homemade...see recipe below

1/2 lb shrimp, in shell

1/2 lb mussels

salt and freshly ground black pepper

1 - In a large stock pot, bring the stock to a low boil. Reduce the heat and simmer 20 - 25 minutes. Set aside until needed.

2 - Make the marinade for the fish in a plastic ziplock bag by mixing 3 tablespoons of olive oil and 1.5 chopped garlic cloves. Soak half of the saffron threads in a couple of tablespoons of hot water and add to the olive oil garlic mixture. Cut the fish into 2" cubes and add to the marinade. This can be done one day ahead of time.

3 - Heat 3-4 tablespoons of olive oil in a stock pot on medium heat. Add the onions, leeks and chopped fennel and saute until soft, taking care not to brown, about 10 minutes. Add 2 - 3 garlic cloves and saute a minute more. Add the tomatoes, orange zest, a bunch of hte fennel fronds, and the orange rind. Bring to a simmer, reduce heat, and cook 10 minutes. Taste the broth. Season if needed. Add fish stock and remaining saffron to the tomato sauce. Bring to a boil, reduce heat, and simmer. Season to taste with salt and pepper, remembering that seafood will be added.

4 - When ready to eat, add the thickest pieces of the fish to the simmering soup and cook a few minutes without letting it come to a boil. Add the shrimp and the mussels. Add the thinner, more delicate pieces of the fish at the last second and cook for 1 - 2 minutes more until the shrimp are pink and the mussels open. Taste and season with salt and pepper.

5 - Ladle all the seafood from soup onto a platter and sprinkle with chopped fennel frond if desired. Serve the broth in a separate terrine or mix with the seafood platter.

6 - Garnish with a nice piece of oiled, toasty bread.

For homemade fish stock:

Adapted from Nathalie Dupree

yield - 2 quarts

Ingredients:

1/3 c. olive oil

1 medium onion, sliced

1 medium carrot, coarsely chopped

1/2 cup finely chopped fresh fennel or 1/2 tsp fennel seed

1.5 lbs roma tomatoes or canned Italian plum tomatoes, drained and chopped

2 garlic cloves, chopped

1/5 lbs bones, heads and trimmings of a non-oily fish (I pulled these from the whole snapper that I bought and filleted for the muddle above)

3 large stalks of parsley

1 tsp fennel seed

2 bay leaves

6 black peppercorns

rind of a small orange, lime or lemon

1/2 tsp saffron threads

pinch dried red pepper

1 - Heat olive oil in a heavy 12-quart stockpot over medium heat. Add the onions, carrots, fennel, tomatoes, garlic, and the fish bones and cook, stirring occasionally, for 10 minutes. Add the parsley stalks, fennel seed, bay leaves, peppercorns, orange rind, saffron threads, and red pepper to the pot.

2 - Add cold water to barely cover ingredients. Bring to a low boil, reduce the heat to a simmer, and cook for 30 minutes, uncovered. (Add water if needed). Let the broth base cool enough to handle, and then strain it through a large fine sieve or a colander lined with cheesecloth, pressing hard on the solids to extract all the juices.

3 - Cool the stock and refrigerate several hours or overnight. (the stock will keep refrigerated up to 3 days or frozen for six months).

Enjoy!