Bouillabaisse please.
Bouillabaisse. Photo and dish by private chef, Charlie Romo.
This dish brings me back to my childhood…growing up on the lake, endless summers exploring the local islands, learning to sail, and mum’s gourmet cooking. A truly influential time in my life, elements which have made me the woman I am today…a period of time initially taken for granted prior to experiencing New York as a resident.
The big city has an extraordinary gift of raw inspiration… To create. Experiment with personal style. Learn a new language. To be proud and humbled by your own heritage. Over the past couple fleeting months, I have rediscovered so much of myself via the culture, the amazing people encountered, the fashion, and…the food.
Bouillabaisse. Photo and dish by private chef, Charlie Romo.
This incredible dish evolved via twitter conversation with Charlie Romo, an uber-talented private chef hailing from Texas…follow him at @Moonglow1980. The magic key word combination presented my fellow photography + fashion-lover friend an opportunity to create a dish for entry into an image contest with intellectual property producer and publisher, Glitterati Inc. Fusing some of my favorite ingredients, Charlie’s presentation could not have been any more perfect…bouillabaisse!
~ in Charlie’s words…
Bouillabaisse Lite Recipe:
Firstly, a Bouillabaisse is a French fish stew that originated in Marseille. This not a traditional take on it by far but I used elements I personally enjoy. Also, I excluded shrimp and lobster from the recipe to focus primarily on the flavors of the mussels & clams.
Ingredients:
1 lb. Littleneck Clams, 1 lb. Chilean Mussels, 2 3-4 oz. filets Orange Roughy, 2 3-4 oz. filets Halibut, 4-6 fresh, cleaned whole squid, bodies sliced in rounds, with tentacles (for garnish), 1/2 cup celery, diced, 1/2 cup red onion, diced, 1/2 cup fennel, diced, 1/2 cup diced tomato, 2-3 tbsp. minced garlic, 2-3 good pinches of cumin, 1-2 bay leaves, 1 tsp. fresh thyme, 1/3 cup good extra virgin olive oil, 1 cup seafood stock, Pinch good saffron (if unavailable, use Mexican Azafran), 4 oz cup organic tomato sauce, Sea Salt to taste, Grains of Paradise to taste (if unavailable, Freshly Ground Black Pepper will suffice), Sprinkle of Herbes de Provonce (Optional), & Sprinkle of Herbes de Provonce (Optional).
Preparation:
Heat olive oil in pot or large sauce pan over low heat. (On the side, have a skillet heating slowly. Keep on low till 5 minutes before the Halibut step). Add diced onion, celery, fennel, tomatoes (and any stray tomato juice from dicing), garlic and cover immediately.. Uncover after 3-4 minutes. When you see condensation droplets, that’s the sweat you want. Add salt to allow vegetables to release moisture, as well as Grains of Paradise (or pepper if unavailable), cumin, saffron (or azafran if unavailable), thyme and bay leaves. This delicate process we’re orchestrating is like a seasoning infusion.
Cover to allow steam and precipitation to create a broth. Keep heat low and allow this process to work for an additional 5-6 minutes. Uncover and stir to assure there is no to minimal browning. Then, recover for an additional 2 minutes to ensure a good sweat has been had. Uncover and Incorporate seafood stock & tomato sauce. Cover and let simmer for 10 minutes. Uncover and strain liquid. Discard or reserve solids for whatever you want to use them for. Up to you. For this particular recipe, we are creating a broth sans solids other than the seafood. Return liquid to sauce pan or pot. Add Orange Roughy and poach 6-8 minutes covered. Uncover and add squid. Poach an additional 2-4 minutes for a total of 2-4 minutes for the squid, 10-12 minutes for the fish. When done, remove fish and squid and cover with aluminum foil to stay warm. Add mussels and clams and cover. Do not disturb for about 8-10 minutes.
*WHILE THIS IS WORKING, TIME TO SEAR OUR HALIBUT*
Bring additional (hopefully) cast iron skillet up to med-high heat. You know it’s hot enough when you sprinkle water at it and the water beads off very fast and vanishes. This is essential because, if your skillet is not hot enough, your fish will stick. Must allow the protein to hit a hot surface and sear. No fat is necessary in the skillet when you sear. (No oil, butter, lard, etc). (Optionally, you can saute the Halibut in a fat for 3-5 minutes on each side if you are more comfortable with said cooking method).
When skillet is hot enough, season Halibut with sea salt, Grains of Paradise (or pepper) and Herbes de Provonce, (optional. There’s lavender in HdP which some people may find assertive). Sear each side 3-5 minutes. When done, set aside under aluminum foil to keep warm.
*BACK TO OUR SHELLFISH*
When you uncover, all mussels and clams should be open. Discard any unopened ones as those have gone bad and may get you plague-sick. Time to plate! Ladel broth and shellfish in bowl. Wedge Orange Roughy in as best you can. Sprinkle squid. Wedge tentacles around, attractively. Top w/ seared Halibut and serve with crusty bread, (warm or toasty tortillas work, too!) & lemon wedges. Garnish with parsley.
Serves 1-2. Increase ingredients according to how many you’ll be serving. Feel free to swap in various fishes and shellfishes to suit your tastes. This is a homely recipe where components are at your discretion. Technique and timing should be the focus in practicing this recipe.
Thank you Charlie for allowing me to collaborate with you on deciding this dish. Your passion and talent I find inspiring…in your words, “art that we can eat.”
~T
