It can be a meal in itself or be part of a course in a multi course meal.
There are a few variations:
Bouillabaisse (French)
New Orleans Fish Stew
Cioppino (Italian)
Paella (Spanish)
All have the same basic ingredients: Shellfish (shrimp, mussels/clams), fish (preferably white fish: bass, rockfish, trout, etc), crab (optional), crawfish (New Orleans) and the most important shrimp/fish stock. Chicken stock can be used but not as flavorful as using shrimp/fish stock.
Thyme or bay leaf or oregano are great aromatics, depending on which variation of the stew you're making.
Bouillabaisse
Serves 2-4 depending on serving size
8 medium shrimp (25-30)
2 whole trout, skin on
12 mussels, cleaned and bearded, uncooked
8 small clams washed, cleaned and uncooked
2 French country link sausage, cooked and diced
1/2 cup garlic minced
1/2 cup shallots minced
1/2 cup sweet onions, diced
4 sprigs of thyme
4 ripe tomatoes
1 medium sized white potato, large dice and blanched.
2 cups shrimp/fish stock
Method:
Blanching the potatoes is to slightly cook in boiling water to keep from turning black.
Bring water to a boil and season with salt. Drop potatoes into boiling water and blanch for about 5 minutes.
Back to the boullabaisse..... in a large deep pan on medium/high heat sautee onion, garlic and shallot for about 2 minutes......
Add diced tomatoes and let cook until they liquefy a little.
Toss in the sauteed sausages and continue
Place trouts into the pan and cook for about 5 mins on each side.
Add all shrimp/fish stock and let it all come to a boil.
Add diced blanched potatoes and cook for about 15 mins on high heat until liquid is about half or so.
Add shrimp, mussels and clams and cook until they're cooked....about 5-10 mins.
Cover pan with lid and turn off heat.
Salt and pepper to taste
Serve with toasted sliced french baguette
"Et voila, une bouillabaisse authentique!!"
New Orleans Fish/Seafood Stew
This very similar to Bouillabaisse in preparation but quicker; substituting sausage with Taso Ham - pork shoulder prepared like ham with herb crust.
This more of a soup than stew.
Same ingredients; sauté garlic and shallots together with taso ham; adding fish.
Pour in a cup of fish stew and add potatoes.....let cook to a boil for about 5-10 mins
Add shrimp, mussels and clams and cook until they open.
Salt and pepper to taste.
Serve as is with toast or long grain rice.
" Le Bonne temps roule"
Cioppino
This recipe is a little more elaborate than the last 2, it involves making a cioppino sauce with Italian sausage.
Ripe tomatoes about 4-6 depending on size, preferably roma tomatoes
Italian Spicy sausage
1/2 cup chopped garlic
1/2 cup chopped shallots
2 Bay leaves
2 sprigs fresh oregano
Spicy red peppers
Shrimp, medium (25-30) about a dozen
Fish - Halibut, Bass, rock fish are good
Clams - dozen
Mussels - dozen
Skinless chicken thighs (optional) 4
2 cups shrimp/fish stock
Let's make the Cioppino sauce/base first:
In a deep saute pan saute garlic, shallots, diced sausages and tomatoes for about 10-15 mins or when tomatoes start to liquefy.
Cover with shrimp stock and let it come to a boil while adding oregano sprigs and bay leaves.
Using a hand blender liquefy the mixture. This is your cioppino sauce base
In a separate pan saute fish with olive oil until about half way cooked.
Add in shrimp, clams and mussels in to the pan
Pour cioppino sauce until it all comes to a boil.
Salt and pepper to taste.
Let it rest and serve with crostini
"Prego.....buon appetito"
Paella
Serves 4 as a meal.
This recipe has been used far too many times improperly......yes, Improperly!
Too many short cuts, because its ingredients are expensive: saffron and white wine.....to name a couple of them.
The recipe I know, I've known even before I became a chef, but from a good source who happen to be a chef from Spain......:o)
Ingredients you will need:
Shrimp (26-30) dozen
Clams - Dozen, cleaned and bearded
Mussels - Dozen, cleaned and bearded
Chicken thighs skin-on, bone-in, about 4
White fish (bass, rockfish, halibut, trout, etc..) about 1lb cut into 4 smaller pieces
1 Spanish onions, medium dice
1/2 cup chopped garlic
1/2 cup chopped shallots
1 cup Long grain rice
2 cup fish stock
2 cup white wine (not cooking wine, please)
1 tbsp of saffron (not powder, please)
1/3 cup olive oil
2 whole bay leaves
In a large deep pan cook chicken thighs skin side down until half way cooked (about 15mins), then pour out the fat. (remove skin, if you want)
Pour in olive oil and let it cook the chicken for another 5 mins.
Toss in garlic, shallot and onions and continue saute until onion is translucent
Stir in rice.
Pour in wine and shrimp stock and let rice cook for about 20 mins
Stir in Saffron
salt and pepper to taste
Toss in bay leaves
Add shrimp, mussels, clams and fish and when they're completely, the rice should be done as well.
Serve as is.
"Que Mierda Buena"
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