Fancy Bouillabaisse Special Occasion Meal

Fancy Bouillabaisse Special Occasion Meal

Fancy Bouillabaisse Special Occasion Meal

Ingredients

• 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
• 1 leek , chopped thinly white and light green parts only
• 1 medium onion, diced
• 1 whole fennel bulb—bulb only, diced fronds reserved
• 4 cloves garlic. minced
• 1/2 cup carrots, diced
• 2 medium tomatoes, diced
• 2 whole bay leaves
• Pinch of saffron threads
• 2 tablespoons Pernod
• 5 cups fish stock or water
• 3 5 oz lobster tails, cut in half lengthwise
• 1 pounds Yukon Gold potatoes. tiny bite sized ones peeled
• 1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
• 2 dozen littleneck clams scrubbed
• 1 pound shrimp, peeled and deveined
• 1 pound mussels, rinsed and beards removed
• 1 pound crab legs, cut into small 4-6" sections

Instructions

• Into a stock pot, add olive oil and heat to medium high.  Once hot, add leeks, onions, garlic, fennel and carrots.  Saute until onions and fennel are translucent.  
• Add tomatoes and saffron and stir for 5 minutes.  Then add Pernod to deglaze the pan.  (Scrape up bits from bottom of pan.) This will happen very quickly.
• Add stock(or water) bay leaves and potatoes to pot.  Bring pot to simmer.  Continue to cook until small potatoes and carrots are cooked and tender.  Remove from heat.
• While the pot of veggies/broth is simmering, clean all shell fish and have on a plate ready to cook once broth is pureed.
• Remove 1/2 of the potatoes and set aside.  Using an immersion blender, puree the soup taking care blend all ingredients to smooth.  Season with salt (especially if you used water versus fish stock.)
• Put stock post of pureed broth back onto burner and heat to hot and bubbling temperature. Add potatoes back into pot.   Once broth is hot, add clams first, and cook for 3-5 minutes.  Then add mussels and cook for 3 more minutes.  Then add lobster tails and cook for 3 more minutes.  At this time add shrimp and crab and cook until shrimp is completely opaque.
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