3 - Bouillabaisse fish stew

http://www.letscookfrench.com/recettes/recette.cfm?num_recette=53

So, we're still in France and this is a really French classic, bouillabaisse fish stew.  I've adapted the recipe  slightly to accommodate those without a pressure cooker so I did this in a casserole dish in the oven.  

To begin with let me go through some of the ingredients I bought for this dish.  I selected frozen basa fish fillets as they're low in fat and reasonably priced.  In my local supermarket there's always an offer on king prawns so I was able to buy two packs of jumbo king prawns for £5 which is a bargain, although I only used half a packet for this recipe and froze the rest.  The mussels were jarred.  I used red onions for sweetness and colour in addition to the leeks.

The base of the stew is a series of layers: potatoes, leeks/onions and tomatoes.  I'd recommend being consistent with the thickness of the vegetables to ensure they cook evenly.  I added 2/3 bottle of dry white wine and a pinch of saffron - very expensive and has a strong flavour so I think a pinch is enough.  The stew is supposed to have a soup-like consistency so I also added two cups of water along with some garlic and a chicken stock cube for added flavour.

I laid the basa fillets on top of the vegetables and sprinkled the rinsed mussels and prawns over the top.  The stock cube already added saltiness to the dish, so I added lots of freshly ground black pepper before putting a lid on the dish and putting it in my preheated oven (180 degrees) for 45 minutes.  After, I took the lid off and added a teaspoon of cornflour liquid to the dish and gave it a light stir.  I then returned the dish to the oven for a further 20 minutes.

I served the bouillabaisse on plates but it would work equally as well in soup bowls with some fresh french bread for dunking!


Bon appétit!