Orange-Saffron Bouillabaisse with Gluten Free Red Pepper Rouille

Posted by Rachel

October 8, 2008

Last summer, I decided to watch the entire series of “The French Chef”, Julia Child’s cooking show from the 60’s. The one episode that has always stuck out in my mind was the one where she made bouillabaisse. After watching that episode, I think I had firmly decided that I would never make bouillabaisse.

Oops.

It’s not that I had anything in particular against making a fish soup, it’s just the…um, fervor with which she went about handling the seafood. It kind of grossed me out. But, by the end of the episode she had this beautiful bowl of soup that looked so tasty. I was jazzed about the final product, but I wanted to make it a little less, how shall I put it, rustic. I didn’t want to deal with fish bones and other messy things that come with making her version of Bouillabaisse, so with a little help from my favorite stash of tried and true recipes, I created this fancy adaptation that takes the dirty out of making a delicious fish soup.

ORANGE SAFFRON BOUILLABAISSE WITH GLUTEN FREE RED PEPPER ROUILLE
serves two
recipe created with a little help from Cook’s Illustrated

The great thing about Bouillabaise is that it is very healthy and totally adaptable. You can use pretty much any kind of seafood you have on hand. Mussels, lobster, calamari or almost any fin fish would be perfect, but I would probably save the crabmeat for another dish.

For the Orange-Saffron Fish Stock:
2 Tbs. olive oil
1 small onion, chopped
1 carrot, chopped
2 celery stalks, chopped
1 leek, washed and thinly sliced
10 garlic cloves, smashed
1 cup dry white wine
3 (8oz.) bottles clam juice
3 cups water
8 sprigs parsley
5 sprigs thyme
1/2 lemon, juiced
orange zest, removed in long strips using a vegetable peeler
1/2 tsp. saffron
freshly ground pepper, to taste

For the Seafood and Marinade:
10 medium shrimp, peeled and deveined
4 sea scallops, muscles removed and each scallop cut in half lengthwise
6 oz. fish fillet, skinned and cut into 1 inch pieces (I used Salmon because I happened to have some on hand. Typically something like red snapper, monkfish, or sea bass would work better.)
pinch red pepper flakes
2 garlic cloves, minced
a pinch saffron threads, crumbled
4 basil leaves, chiffonade
a few Tbs. olive oil
a splash of dry white wine

10 littleneck clams, scrubbed

For the Rouille:
1 red bell pepper, roasted, peeled, stemmed and seeded, cut into large pieces
2 slices Gluten-Free bread
1 large garlic clove
pinch cayenne pepper, or to taste
1/2 cup Extra Virgin Olive Oil
sea salt, to taste

For the Garlicky Toasted Bread:
2 slices Gluten-Free Bread
1 garlic clove, peeled and cut in half
olive oil spray

1. For the Seafood and Marinade: Combine everything in a bowl and cover with plastic wrap. Stick in the refrigerator for at least an hour while you are getting everything else ready.

2. For the Rouille: In the bowl of a food processor, combine the red bell pepper, bread, garlic, cayenne, a dash of salt, and a few tablespoons of the olive oil. Process this mixture until combined, and with the machine running, drizzle in the remaining olive oil until it is the consistency of mayonnaise. Season and transfer to a small bowl. Cover with plastic and set aside.

3. For the Stock: Heat the olive oil in a soup pot over high heat. Add the onion, carrot, celery, leek and garlic and saute until the veggies are well browned. Deglaze the pan with the white wine and scrape up the bits of fond on the bottom of the pan. Cook off all of the alcohol in the wine and add the clam juice and water. Add the herbs and lemon juice and bring the stock to a simmer. Cover the pot and allow this to simmer over medium-low heat for about 45 minutes. Remove the pot from the heat and add the orange zest and saffron. Cover and steep these flavors into the stock for about 15 minutes. Strain the soup using a fine mesh strainer and return the stock to the pot over medium high heat.

4. To Finish the Soup: Bring the soup up to a boil and allow it to reduce down for about 5 minutes. Add the marinated seafood and the clams to the pot and cover. Allow the soup to simmer for about 5-7 minutes or until the seafood is cooked through and the clams have opened. Discard any clams that do not open after 10 minutes of cooking.

5. To Make the Garlicky Bread: Heat the broiler to high and place an oven rack about 3 inches from the broiler. Spray both sides of the bread with olive oil spray and place the slices on a sheet pan. Place under the broiler for just a few minutes until it is browned. Watch it very, very closely. Remove the pan from the broiler and rub the browned side of the bread with the garlic clove. Flip the bread over and put it back under the broiler to brown the other side. Remove when browned and set aside.

6. To serve: Ladle the soup into warmed soup bowls, dividing the seafood evenly into the two bowls. Serve the Garlicky bread on the side with a big dollop of the Rouille on top. Once you dig in, feel free to spread the Rouille all over the bread or add some of it to the soup. Yum!

Oh, and P.S., as soon as this posts I am getting started on Julia’s autobiography called “My Life in France”. I’ve heard so many great things about it – I can’t wait to tear into it. Have you read it?