Patrick Properties

Even though it’s Spring, there is a chill in the air here in Charleston.  It seems like a piping hot Bouillabaisse kind of night, so we found Nico’s recipe and decided to share it with you guys.  If you make it, let us know how it turns out for you!  Enjoy….

BOUILLABAISSE by Nico Romo

Ingredients

Broth:

1 celery stalk, chopped

1/2 onion, diced

1/4 cup ginger, chopped

1/4 cup garlic, chopped

1/2 teaspoon powdered saffron

1/2 cup white wine

2 teaspoons salt

1 kaffir lime leaf

1 lime, juiced

1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

1/2 piece of lemon grass, chopped

a couple of fish bones, if available

Fish:

3 of more different kinds of local fish cut into small pieces (ex. 4 oz. porgy, scallops, shrimp)

4 clams

1/2 cup olive oil

1/2 cup shallots, thinly sliced

1/2 garlic clove, crushed

Vegetables:

1 fingerling potato

1 leaf baby bok choy

3 oyster mushrooms

1/4 sweet red pepper, sliced

1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

2/3 cups white wine

Sliced French baguette bread

Method

1.  Begin with the broth:  Combine all of the broth ingredients together in a large pot and simmer for 25 minutes.  Skim the broth and pass through a chinois.

2.  Prepare the fish:  Heat 1/4 cup of the olive oil in a large (6-qt) saucepan.  Sear the scallops, fish, and shrimp and then remove them from the from the pan.  In the same pan, drop the clams, garlic, and shallots and add the broth and bring to a boil.  Once broth comes to a boil, add all vegetables to the pan.  Sauté everything together until the vegetables are crunchy and clams are cooked thoroughly.  Add crushed garlic (more or less to taste), fresh ground pepper, and sweet red pepper.

3.  To serve:  Add salt and pepper to taste and add lime juice if needed.  Place a thick slice of crusty French bread, plain or slightly toasted, into a soup bowl.  Spoon the vegetables, fish, and broth mixture over the bread and enjoy.