No. 1124

Parisian Bouillabaisse

Bouillabaisse a la Parisienne

For eight persons this dish requires ten pounds of fish such as bass, angel fish groupper or any other fish having firm flesh, the tail of a small lobster and a few large crawfish; all this fish must be of a superior quality and of the very freshest. Suppress the heads and thin tail ends from all the fish after cleaning well, and with the bones, head and parings prepare a good broth. Cut the bodies of the largest ones into steaks or squares; chop up a white onions, and a piece of the white of leek; with these bestrew the bottom of a saucepan wider than its heighth, add two small seeded and chopped tomatoes, two cloves of garlic, a bay leaf, a bit of saffron, the pulp of a peeled and seeded lemon, two small peppers, a bunch of parsley and salt; in case no fresh tomatoes are on hand, use a tomato puree (No. 730), but not a sauce; lay in the pieces of fish with two gills of good olive oil, and three gills of white wine, then cover with the prepared broth, after straining and skimming it. Set the saucepan on a hot fire, boil the liquid rapidly for fifteen to eighteen minutes--the fish should by this time be thoroughly cooked and the broth succulent and slightly thickened by the reduction; season to taste, and finish with a pinch of chopped parsley, and a small piece of grated garlic. Have a deep dish, lay in it fifteen slices of plain, white bread three-quarters of an inch thick and slightly buttered; sprinkle them with a portion of the broth, turn them over and pour on the remainder. Dress the pieces of fish on another dish with a little of the broth; suppress the parsley, garlic and bay leaf, and send the two dishes to the table at the same time.

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For the Modern Kitchen

Escoffier-era proportions, written for a brigade rather than a home cook, but the method is sound and translates directly. The measurements that trip people up are the gills and the 10 pounds of fish, which is whole, ungutted weight.

The hinge: boil it hardEverything else in fish cookery says gentle heat; bouillabaisse is the exception. The rapid boil is what emulsifies the olive oil into the broth so it comes out lightly thickened rather than as a slick of oil on thin fish stock. Do not lower it to a simmer.
GillsA gill is half a cup. Two gills of olive oil is 1 cup, three gills of white wine is 1 1/2 cups. That volume of oil is not a misprint for ten pounds of fish.
Ten pounds of fishThat is whole fish as bought, heads and frames included; the heads and thin tails go into the broth and only the thick bodies are cut into steaks. Reckon on roughly half that weight as usable bone-in pieces for eight people.
Fish substitutions"Groupper" is grouper. "Angel fish" in 19th-century American markets may well mean angelshark, several species of which are now depleted and protected in some waters; if so, skip it. Any firm, non-flaking white fish works: monkfish, halibut cheeks, blackfish, snapper, striped bass, conger.
Two small peppersAmbiguous in the original. Small dried red chiles, one or two, rather than bell peppers, is the likelier reading here; a single small dried chile is a safe interpretation.
Saffron"A bit" is a generous pinch — roughly 1/4 teaspoon of threads for this quantity, crumbled in. It is the defining flavour, not a colouring, and cheap turmeric substitutions will not read as bouillabaisse.
TimingFifteen to eighteen minutes suits thick steaks and lobster tail in a wide, shallow pan. Thin fillets will disintegrate in half that; cut the pieces large, as steaks or squares, as instructed.
The pan"Wider than its heighth" matters — a wide sauteuse or braising pan gives the surface area for a hard boil and reduction. A tall stockpot will stew the fish instead.
ServingThe bread is plain white, sliced thick and buttered but not toasted, and it soaks the broth in a separate deep dish while the fish goes out on a platter. Fifteen slices for eight is about two apiece. Serve both dishes at once, as written.

A Little History

Bouillabaisse belongs to Marseille, where it began as the fishermen's use for the unsellable rockfish left in the net, and the name is generally traced to the Provencal bolhabaissa mdash boil, then lower mdash a reminder of the hard boil that binds the oil into the broth. What Ranhofer gives here is the Parisian restaurant version: the rascasse, weevers and other Mediterranean rockfish that Provencal cooks insist on are simply gone, replaced by whatever firm-fleshed fish a New York market could supply fresh, with lobster and crawfish standing in for the local shellfish. The Epicurean (1894) records the food of Delmonico's, and the dish's own title marks it as Parisian, which is as much as can be said about how a Marseille fisherman's stew reached an American dining room. It is sent to the table as two dishes together, fish on one platter and soaked bread on another. That separation is still the classic service in Marseille, where the broth and the fish are eaten as distinct courses.