Ma bouillabaisse

For my end of year/graduation lunch I asked my teacher if I could make bouillabaisse, which is Marseille’s specialty. I didn’t have a real one since I got here almost one year ago (see Sept. 16, 2010 Bouillabaisse entry) and as I am leaving very soon I thought this was the perfect opportunity to honor the city which welcomed me and was the backdrop for my professional culinary initiation. Anne, my teacher, is not herself from Marseille, as a matter of fact she is from all the way up north in Normandy, home of butter, cream and apples, among other things, so this was a first for her as well. She explained to me what a struggle it was for her to find the right variety of fishes, and even got scolded by one fish monger who told her: “What do you think, that Marseillais eat bouillabaisse everyday? You have to make a special order and I will prepare it for you.” She finally was able to find the majority of required species, though I wish I had been with her on the fish-seeking adventure.

It turns out that it is such a huge deal to make because of 1) the simmering of the soup for the depth of flavors 2) the scaling and filleting of the fish. Also I realized this is not something one can easily reproduce at home because some of these fish have humungous scales that fly all over the place when you attempt to remove them. Or maybe I am just an inexperienced fish-scaler. Either way, it’s great to have a légumerie (ie. place to wash the vegetables) in order to scale your kilos of fish. It’s also kind of fun to examine them and get really dirty so allow plenty of time for this (and picture-taking) and for a thorough shower afterwards to remove any trace of fish slime or scale. Luckily I was not alone in the kitchen – thanks to M for helping with the scaling!

There are actually three parts in bouillabaisse: the soup, which is normally served as a first course, the fish and potatoes (simmered in the soup), and the garlic-rubbed croutons served with a rusty colored garlic and saffron flavored mayonnaise-like sauce called rouille (my daughter loved the potatoes slathered in rouille). Grated cheese is also sometimes served, though in the two restaurants where I worked that served this dish, the cheese was omitted. Because some of the fish which comprise bouillabaisse are rare, it is also a relatively expensive dish which is reserved for special occasions. The ones offered for twenty or thirty euros at the tourist restaurants surrounding the Old Port are mostly cheaper versions of the real thing, which is more likely to cost at least double.

The first photo is from my first restaurant, Une Table au Sud, where chef Lionel Levy concocts a Bouillabaisse milkshake which is shocking to some ancient purists around town… the second photo is the finished product served yesterday after class.

N.B. According to the Charte de la Bouillabaisse Marseillaise, signed in 1979 by eleven restaurants, an authentic bouillabaisse needs to have at least four of the following fish: rascasse (Scorpion fish), chapon (cousin of the Scorpion fish), galinette (Gunard in English) Saint Pierre (John Dory), monkfish and conger eel. So for those of you who have been asking me to make this… good luck on finding the ingredients!