Outdoors

A Fine Kettle of Fish

Florida grouper, stone crabs and local clams give new life to a classic French fish stew

By LAURA REILEY, Times Food Critic
Published November 2, 2007

Bouillabaisse is mythological (it's what Venus fed to Vulcan to lull him to sleep so she could romp with Mars), rooted firmly in the port city of Marseille. The star of the French seafood stew is an ugly little red-gray sea scorpion called the racasse. Frankly, grouper kicks this fish's fin. In fact, Florida waters offer up a number of ingredients that might improve upon the classic dish. So, here it is. French bouillabaisse, Florida style.

INGREDIENTS

2 pounds grouper

2/3 pound Key West shrimp

1/2 pound Cedar Key clams

1/2 pound bay scallops, preferably frozen from last month's Florida season

1/2 pound stone crab claws

1/2 pound Prince Edward Island mussels (commercial mussel harvesting is prohibited in this state, but hey, it's got to have mussels)

4 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

1 large onion, chopped

2 small leeks

4 plum tomatoese

1 small bulb fennel, chopped (discard fronds or save for another use)

1 carrot, peeled and cut into skinny matchsticks

Zest of one orange

3 cloves garlic, chopped

1 lemon, cut into small wedges

1 quart fish stock (see note)

1 cup dry white wine

2 tablespoons Pernod (see note)

1 bay leaf

1 stalk fresh thyme

1 teaspoon saffron threads

Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste

Chopped parsley, dill and reserved fennel fronds, to taste

DIRECTIONS

Prepare your seafood: Cut grouper into 11/2-inch chunks; peel shrimp, leaving tails on; scrub clams and mussels (removing any mussel beards); lightly crack crab claws. Salt and pepper the fish, shrimp and scallops, and squeeze a lemon over the whole thing.

In a large stockpot, saute onion in oil over medium heat, about five minutes. Don't brown. Meanwhile, split leeks down the middle, rinse, then slice white part thinly. To peel and seed tomatoes, score the bottoms with an X, drop for 16 seconds in boiling water, then rinse under cold water to slip off skins. Cut tomatoes in half lengthwise, scooping out the seeds. Then chop tomatoes roughly. Add leek, tomato, fennel, carrot, orange zest, garlic and lemon wedges to onions. Saute over medium heat for five minutes. Raise heat and add fish stock, white wine, Pernod, bay leaf, thyme and saffron and boil vigorously to blend flavors, about five minutes. Turn heat to a simmer and add grouper. In two minutes, add clams, shrimp and scallops. Simmer five minutes more. Add mussels and cracked stone crab claws, gently rearranging so that most seafood is submerged. Taste the broth and add salt and pepper accordingly.

Toss out any clams or mussels that didn't open. Ladle stew into warm bowls, top with chopped herbs and serve with toasted rounds of baguette and a sauce rouille. Rouille is a spicy, garlicky mayonnaise. If you don't feel like making it from scratch, use commercial mayo doctored with a clove of chopped garlic and pinches of saffron threads and cayenne.

Notes: Fish stock is made by simmering fish skeletons in water with chopped onion, celery, leek, parsley, fennel leaves and white wine for 30 minutes. If that sounds like a hassle, use equal parts clam juice and chicken broth.

While classic, a bottle of anise-flavored Pernod costs $28; a bottle of cheap anisette costs $8. For two tablespoons, go cheap.

Serves 4-6.

Source: Laura Reiley, Times food critic

[Last modified November 1, 2007, 18:18:51]