| Total: | 2 hr |
| Prep: | 15 min |
| Cook: | 1 hr 45 min |
| Yield: | 8 servings |
Ingredients
- 8 small boneless fillets moano or weke (like French rouget)
- 8 (1 1/2 ounces each) John Dory boneless fillet
- 8 (1 1/2 ounces each) nohu boneless fillet
- 8 (1 1/2 ounces each) opakapaka boneless fillet
- 4 (1 1/4 pounds each) live lobster, whole
- 2 ounces carrots, julienned
- 2 ounces leeks, julienne
- 1 gram saffron
- 2 pounds potatoes
- 3 ounces tomato, diced
- 8 sprigs fennel, fresh
- 1/2 onion, large
- 1 stalk celery
- 2 1/2 ounces fresh fennel
- 1 bouquet garni (thyme, parsley, laurel)
- 3 garlic cloves
- 20 ounces tomato, well ripened
- 3 grams saffron
- 5 star anise
- 2/3 cup olive oil
- 2 pounds frozen puff pastry dough
- 3 egg yolks
- salt and pepper
- 1 potato, cooked, skin on
- 1 garlic clove
- 1 pinch cayenne pepper
- Salt and pepper
- 3 egg yolk
- 3 grams saffron
- 2 cups virgin olive oil
- 1 French baguette
Instructions
- The fish soup: Ask your fish market to give you the bones and heads of the moano, John Dory, nohu and opakapaka; cut all into 2-inch pieces. All together you should have approximately 8 pounds of fish scraps. If you are a good client you may get all of these at no charge!
- Soak the fish scraps in cold water for approximately 30 minutes. Wash thoroughly, drip dry. Dice onion, celery and fennel. Cut tomatoes in quarters. Crush the garlic cloves. Place the olive oil in a hot pot and wilt the vegetables without letting them color. Add fish scraps and wilt for an additional 5 minutes. Add tomatoes, crushed garlic cloves, bouquet garni, star anise, saffron and 5 quarts of water. Season lightly with salt and pepper. Boil for 25 minutes.
- SEE “THE BOUILLABAISSE” Remove the bouquet garni. Pass the entire contents, a little at a time, through a food mill. All should go through the food mill with the exception of the fish bones which you will discard. Place the soup in a clean pot and bring to a boil, seasoning according to taste. Flatten the puff pastry to 1/8-inch thick, cut 8-circles approximately 1-inch wider than the soup cup you will be using. Place in each cup, 8 ounces (1 cup) of fish soup, already cold, cover with puff pastry. With a brush, moisten the outer rim of the cup with egg yolk. Place the puff pastry over the cup and seal well. Brush the pastry with egg yolk.
- Peel the potato while still warm. In a mortar, muddle, garlic clove with cayenne, salt and pepper. Add the potato, muddle, add egg yolk and saffron, muddle. Slowly incorporate the olive oil and emulsify the “rouille” with the muddler until all of the oil has been used. Rub the outside of the baguette with garlic. Cut 16 slices, approximately 1/3-inch each, to be toasted.
- The Bouillabaisse: Poach the lobsters for 10 minutes in the soup. Remove and set aside. Ensure the live lobsters have been washed before poaching. Shell the lobsters, slice the lobster tails and set aside. Blanch the leeks and carrots in salted water, “al dente”. Peel and slice potatoes approximately 1/8-inch thick. Cook the potatoes covered by an equal part of fish soup and water, add saffron. Do not overcook, they must stay in one piece. Poach the fish fillets in remainder of fish soup: nohu, opakapaka, John Dory and moano, in that order. The firmest fish requires longer cooking time and should go in first. The moano is very delicate and will not need more than 30 seconds cooking time. Bake the soup in a preheated 400 degree oven for 15 minutes. In the bottom of each plate place the vegetable julienne and the sliced potato, distribute in each plate an equal portion of fish and lobster. Arrange as a fan. Sprinkle with diced tomato and fennel leaves. Place in front of each guest the fish plate, the fish soup in crust on the left of each plate. With a small ladle, break the crust and scoop a good helping of soup over your bouillabaisse. Float 1 or 2 croutons topped with the rouille and enjoy.