How To Make Bouillabaisse

How to make Bouillabaisse

Bouillabaisse is a traditional French dish that sounds elegant, but is simple to create. There are multitudes of different Bouillabaisse recipes. The traditional recipes used bony fish. The scorpion fish was used frequently by the fishermen in France because they did not earn a high income. For this reason, they kept the scorpion fish for themselves. This also applied to the smaller crustaceans that were caught. They would all go into the pot to make the fish stew.

It has been said that this fish stew stems from a soup that originated in Greece. It is believed that the soup was brought to France by the founders of Marseille. This South of France Bouillabaisse is a wonderful self catering meal to share with your dinner guests.

The classic bouillabaisse has seven various kinds of seafood and is topped with a Rouille sauce just prior to serving.

• Approximate preparation time: 15 minutes
• Approximate cooking time: 30 minutes

Tools for the Rouille Sauce

• A food processor
• Measuring spoons and cups
• A manual citrus juicer (optional)
• An egg separator (optional)

Ingredients for the Rouille Sauce

• A red bell pepper (roasted and peeled)
• 1 pc. of white bread (torn into tiny pieces)
• 2 garlic cloves
• 1 tbs. of Dijon mustard
• 2 egg yolks
• A pinch of saffron
• 1 lemon (only the juice)
• 1 c. olive oil
• Salt and pepper to taste

To Prepare the Rouille Sauce

1. Put the garlic, egg yolks, bell pepper, lemon juice, Dijon mustard and saffron in the food processor. Puree ingredients until smooth.
2. Slowly add all of your olive oil to the running food processor.
3. Salt and pepper to taste
4. Cover and refrigerate until it is time to serve the stew.

Bouillabaisse tools

• A cutting board
• A wooden spoon
• A knife
• Large saucepan or Dutch oven
• A toaster oven/toaster
• A ladle
• Measuring cups and spoons
• 4 to 6 bowls for serving

Bouillabaisse Ingredients

• 1 c. chopped onion
• 2 lbs. of firm whitefish (assorted)
• 4 finely chopped shallots
• ¾ c. olive oil
• 2 c. crushed tomatoes (canned)
• A red bell pepper (chopped)
• 2 tsp. of fennel seed
• 2 garlic cloves (crushed)
• 2 tsp. of salt
• ¼ tsp. of saffron
• ½ tsp. of dried thyme
• 1 ½ tsp. of black pepper
• 2 c. fish broth
• 4 c. water
• 2 lbs. of mussels
• 5 whole crabs (cut into quarters)
• A loaf of sliced and toasted French bread
• 2 c. of shrimp (uncooked)

To Prepare the Bouillabaisse Stew

1. Put the entire 2 pounds of the whitefish on your cutting board. Use a sharp knife to cut them into 2” pieces and then set the fish aside.
2. In the large saucepan/Dutch oven, heat ¾ c. of olive oil on medium to high heat.
3. Once the oil is hot, add the bell pepper, shallots and chopped onions to it.
4. For 2 or 3 minutes, sauté the peppers, shallots and onions in the pan.
5. Now add the tomatoes, chopped garlic, fennel seed, saffron, dried thyme, salt and pepper.
6. Using the wooden spoon, stir the vegetables together to cover them with the olive oil.
7. Add the 4 c. of water to the pan; bring it to a rolling boil.
8. Now add the crab quarters, whitefish pieces and 2 c. of fish broth to the pan and boil the stew for another 7 to 9 minutes.
9. Place the clams, shrimp and mussels into the pan.
10. Boil for an additional 6 minutes.
11. Upon completion, the clams and mussels begin to open and the shrimp will be pink and firm
12. Put one slice of the already toasted bread in the bottom of the serving bowls.
13. Use a ladle to pour the bouillabaisse on the bread.
14. Put a dollop of the chilled Rouille sauce on top and serve.

Although there have been variations of this recipe seen worldwide, this classic version is still a popular recipe made in French cottages and homes throughout the nation.

Homemade Strawberry Ice Cream

Homemade Strawberry Ice Cream

In the world of ice cream, strawberry is considered one of the major along with vanilla and chocolate. It’s one of the big guns you can find in traditional Neapolitan, and there are plenty of great versions that focus on strawberry specifically.

It also happens to be one of the easiest flavors you can make at home. You don’t need a culinary degree to make a wonderful of variation that combines fresh strawberries and natural ingredients.

All you need is a standard ice cream maker, a blender, and the patience to follow this simple recipe:

 
Ingredients

3 cups of fresh strawberries

1 3/4 cups heavy cream

1/8 teaspoon salt

2 large eggs

3/4 cup sugar

1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice

Medium-size fresh strawberries are the key to this delicious recipe. It might be tempting to go with frozen strawberries that are already trimmed, but take the time to buy fresh ones and cut off the tips yourself (you’ll thank yourself for taking this extra step). Medium strawberries also tend to be sweeter so avoid the big ones that are a bit too large to be natural.

A strawberry puree is the secret to this recipe, and you can make it as smooth or chunky as you like. One variation is to make a complete puree, then set aside some chopped strawberries to add during the mixing process.

To make the puree:

Combine your strawberries, 1/4 cup sugar, and lemon juice into a blender and mix until smooth.

Now it’s time to make your custard, and it’s incredibly easy as long as you don’t overheat it:

Combine your salt and cream into a heavy sauce pan and heat it until it’s just simmering.

In a separate bowl, combine the remainder of your sugar and eggs while whisking thoroughly. You can use just the yolks if you like for a slightly heavier final result (in this case use 3 egg yolks). Add your heated cream to your egg mixture and continue to whisk.

 
Return all of these ingredients back to your sauce pan and heat over medium until it thickens naturally.

Let your custard cool at least two hours in your fridge.

If you’re using a standard ice cream maker that requires a pre-frozen bowl, this will be the perfect opportunity to freeze your bowl as well. While these two elements chill, you can use the time to prepare dinner or simply relax.

Once your custard and bowl are at the right temperature, it’s time to finish off the process.

Take your puree mixture and pour it into your custard while mixing the whole time.

When everything is blended evenly, add it to your ice cream maker and turn the machine on.

In about 20 to 25 minutes, you’ll have the perfect version of soft serve strawberry ice cream.

If you want to harden it up, return it to your freezer to get it to a perfect chilled consistency.

And remember, you can also add extra goodies like bananas, nuts, or chocolate into the mix while everything is churning.

This strawberry ice cream recipe comes to us from icecreamakers.com where you can find more information on dessert ideas or reviews for the best ice cream maker for your own kitchen.

Beef Bourguignon

The photo above shows a classic Beef Bourguignon recipe, “Boeuf bourguignon servie avec des pâtes”.
Image Source: Wikipedia.org

Beef Bourguignon

 A Taste of Southern France

There are a few dishes that have made the South of France one of the most romantic and desirable destinations in the world. Beef Bourguignon is one of those rustic dishes that capture the charm and grace of south of France villas nestled in the countryside.

Self catering holidays in the South of France are both enjoyable and a great opportunity to visit local markets. This recipe is particularly great for the local market shopping because of the enormous ingredient list. However, all of the items on this list can easily be found in local markets or at a standard grocery store.

Ingredients

Yields 6-8 servings

• 7oz salt pork, or bacon if salt pork is unavailable, cut into squares pieces

• 4tbsp unsalted butter

• 4lbs beef chuck cut into bite size cubes

• 1lb mushrooms

• Beurre manié, aka 3 tbsp flour blended with 2tbsp butter

• 24 pearl onions

• salt

• 2 cups shallots

• 2 very large peeled carrots chopped into large but bite size chunks

• 5 garlic cloves chopped

• 2 tbsp tomato paste

• ½ cup brandy

• 1 bottle of Pinot Noir wine

• 2 cups beef stock

• 4 whole cloves

• 2 teaspoons dry thyme

• ½ cup parsley

• 3 bay leaves

Directions:

1. Using a large sauté pan, pour a layer of water into the pan to cover the bottom over a high flame. Add the salt pork or bacon into the hot pan and cook until the water is evaporated. Reduce to a low flame. Add 1tbsp butter and continue to cook pork until it is brown. Remove the pork once it is cooked but keep the juice of the pork in the sauté pan. Place the pork in a large pot and cover with lid.

2. In the same sauté pan, add pieces of beef and sauté them until brown. It is important to not stir or continually flip the beef chunks. Doing so will reduce the flavour of the beef and will cause it to take longer to seer. Once the beef is brown, add it to the large lidded pot as well.

3. Add shallots and mushrooms to the lidded pot. Cook for 4 minutes, stirring frequently to keep the beef and pork from sticking to the pot. Then, add tomato paste and continue to stir.

4. Add brandy and stir, reducing this broth to half its current level.

5. Add 1 bottle of wine along with the parsley, thyme, cloves and bay leaves. Cover and simmer for 1 hour. Then, add carrots and simmer for another hour or until beef is very tender.

6. While simmering, chop the mushrooms and prepare the pearl onions. If using the recommended frozen pearl onions, be sure they are thawed before sautéing.

7. After the two or so hours of simmering, remove all beef chunks from the large pot. Then, strain all the contents of the pot into a strainer that is over a medium sized pot. Boil this broth for only 1 or 2 minutes. Set the broth aside.

8. Heat a new large sauté pan over a high flame and add the mushrooms for about 5 minutes or until a watery broth is extracted from the mushrooms. Then, add the onions and 3tbsp butter. Sprinkle a bit of salt over the mixture.

9. Returning to the sauce, turn the heat to low. Then, slowly and gradually whisk in the Beurre manié to the broth and stir constantly until it is absorbed. Stir in another 3 tbsp brandy and taste.

10. To serve this fabulous dish, cover the beef, carrots, mushrooms and onions with broth. Optional side dishes are egg noodles, French bread or mashed potatoes.

Beef Bourguignon