Bouillabaisse and rouille | Gluten-free, paleo (without the bread), dairy-free, healthy!

Bouillabaisse: easy seafood stew with red pepper spread


I met Mona in seventh grade after we moved to Connecticut. Her French Canadian family was from northern Maine, her parents spoke French at home, and she had a gorgeous bunch of brothers and sisters, any of whom could have modeled for Calvin Klein. The girls shared a closet, so their classic Bloomingdales clothes meant that Mona always looked incredibly put together. I wanted all of it: the big happy family, the glamorous sisters to borrow clothes from, the exotic-to-me meals of baked macaroni and cheese casserole (with real Gruyere cheese) and bouillabaisse. I spent as much time as I could at their house.

Fast forward to this past Christmas, when I decided to try making bouillabaisse for dinner with friends. We frequently have local fish in our freezer, so I thought it would be fun to try. Bouillabaisse (bool-yah-BASE) is a seafood stew hailing from Provence, typically made with a variety of local seafood. (I suspect it was developed by fishmongers to use up all the bits and pieces of fish and seafood they hadn’t sold at the end of the day.) I searched online for starter recipes, and decided to start with Emeril Lagasse. We have several neighbors who fish, so I thought it would be easy to get some fish heads or bones from them to make the stock, then add local fish and some frozen seafood.

Instead of receiving fish bones or fish heads, I ended up wrestling with a whole 15-pound partially frozen skipjack, a local tuna relative with incredibly tough skin and razor sharp fins. It did not go well; I felt badly for ruining a beautiful fish to make stock. Making the stock was a full day process; the next day was bouillabaisse day and our dinner guests. And then our dinner guests cancelled… leaving me with a huge pot of bouillabaisse for just two of us to eat. I made bouillabaisse deliveries around the neighborhood that night: my first stop the house of the skipjack provider.

I vowed to make it again, but simpler! So I started with organic vegetable stock from the store, thickened with blended roasted bell peppers and tomatoes, streamlined the recipe, and made it affordable by using just two kinds of frozen seafood. Note that you can use any fish (although I wouldn’t recommend super-fatty fish for this) and any seafood that’s in your budget. Make the broth a day ahead, then heat and cook the seafood just before dinner. Your guests will be super impressed!

My favorite part is the rouille (pronounced roo-EE), a roasted red pepper spread that goes on crusty baguette slices, then dipped into the soup. Bouillabaisse is traditionally served over slices of baguette, with fiery-flavored rouille as a garnish. This version is mild, not spicy, and incredibly rich and flavorful.

I found frozen gluten-free baguettes at Whole Foods (they include mozzarella as an ingredient), which were delightful as a treat with this dish.

Adapted from a recipe by Emeril Lagasse.

Suitable for:

paleo, Whole30-compliant, migraine, and low-sodium (without the rouille and bread), gluten-free, celiac diets

Not recommended for:

vegan, vegetarian diets
Bouillabaisse and rouille | Gluten-free, paleo (without the bread), dairy-free, healthy!

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Bouillabaisse and rouille | Gluten-free, paleo (without the bread), dairy-free, healthy!

Bouillabaisse

Bouillabaisse: easy seafood stew with red pepper spread
4.75 from 4 votes
Prep Time 20 minutes
Cook Time 40 minutes
Total Time 1 hour
Course Dinner
Cuisine French
Servings 16 servings

Ingredients
  

Bouillabaisse

  • 1/4 cup olive oil (extra virgin)
  • 2 large leeks white parts only, cleaned and thinly sliced, reserve dark green parts for stock or compost them
  • 1 bulb fennel thinly sliced
  • 8 cloves garlic
  • 3 bay leaves
  • 3 sprigs thyme (fresh) optional
  • 2 cups vegetable stock (low-sodium)
  • 14 ounces tomatoes canned, no salt added
  • 12 ounces bell peppers roasted, well-drained
  • 1 pound white fish (firm) cubed. Fresh or frozen. If frozen, thaw overnight in the fridge, pat dry before cutting into cubes.
  • 1 pound shrimp wild-caught shrimp, shelled, thawed overnight in refrigerator, well-drained
  • 12 ounces langostino thawed overnight in refrigerator, well-drained
  • 1 handful Italian flat-leaf parsley (fresh) finely chopped

Rouille

  • 12 ounces bell peppers roasted, well-drained
  • 2 cloves garlic
  • 1.5 ounces bread (gluten-free) cubes, 1 cup
  • 1 egg yolks large, pasteurized if possible
  • 1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
  • 2 tablespoons lemon juice (fresh)
  • 1/2 cup olive oil (extra virgin)
  • 12 slices bread (gluten-free) baguettes, thickly cut on the diagonal, toasted or grilled

Instructions
 

Bouillabaisse

  • In a large heavy-bottom soup pot or enameled Dutch oven, heat the olive oil over medium heat until it shimmers.
  • Add the leeks and fennel. Season with black pepper. Saute for 10 minutes until golden brown and reduced in size by about half, adding the garlic after a few minutes.
  • Blend the broth, tomatoes, and bell peppers in a blender until very smooth.
  • Add the tomato-pepper mixture, bay leaves, and thyme (if using) to the soup pot. Bring the liquid just to a boil, then reduce to a gently bubbling simmer. Cook for 30 minutes. Remove the bay leaves and thyme stems. (You can do this ahead of time and then bring the broth to a simmer right before dinner.)
  • Add the fish and seafood. Cook for 4-8 minutes, just until all the seafood is cooked. Remove from heat and stir in the parsley.

Rouille

  • Let all the ingredients come to room temperature.
  • In a food processor, combine all the ingredients except for the oil. Puree until smooth. With the machine running, slowly add the olive oil.
  • Toast the bread slices. Serve spread with rouille, 1 slice per person.

Notes

The rouille freezes beautifully, so you can make the full recipe of the rouille and only use a portion of it. Especially if you don't want to make a full recipe of bouillabaisse. You can stir leftover rouille into any hot soup to thicken it.