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Bouillabaisse and Consommé: two things we feel like we should know... and we're pretty sure we did know at some point. And then we find ourselves staring at the words on a menu and wondering, "Wait...what exactly is that, again?"
Simply put, Bouillabaisse is a Mediterranean fish stew. What distinguishes bouillabaisse from other fish stews is the flavor it gets from some unique ingredients like fennel, orange zest (or peel) and saffron. Bouillabaisse is full of various types of seafood and is traditionally served by placing all the seafood on a platter and filling individual bowls with the steaming broth. The broth is sometimes served with toasted rounds topped with rouille (a sauce made from olive oil, breadcrumbs, garlic and other spices) or as a complement to another fish dish. You can read a bit more about the history of Bouillabaisse here.
Consommé is made by adding meat, tomatoes and egg whites to stock. The egg whites form a "raft" of impurities, drawn out from the acid in the tomatoes. The amber liquid remaining after the impurities have been removed is a complex, flavorful liquid. Michael Ruhlman, in his book The Making of a Chef, talks about the very scientific process of making consommé taught at the Culinary Institute of America. Pages are dedicated to retelling the perils of students who fail to balance heat, acid, patience, and attention...thus botching their consommé.
Photo by Cameron Maddux
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L'Stolpol
Just when I had given up on you, you rally back!
And to demonstrate my sincerity and endless generosity, I bequeath to the Chicagoist community the name of the restaurant where the best bowl of bouillabaisse can be had in the entire Midwest, La Sardine!
Of course mine is better, but I don’t own a restaurant, yet.
But one day in the not to distant future, I will make the ultimate bouillabaisse pilgrimage to L’Epuisette,located in the tiny fishing port, Vallon des Auffes. I am told by the great Chefs of France and Louisiana that the ghost of Alexandre Dumas-père (the great African-French writer and Chef) haunts the town, leaving open books in the library and weighting down empty seats in the theater. In fact, every Friday before the door of the L’Epuisette is locked for the night; a bowl of spicy bouillabaisse is left on the corner table for the ghost of the great Dumas and is always empty upon the Chefs return the next morning!
I can’t wait to dine upon original bouillabaisse with a view of the Chateau d’if, which Dumas memorialized in the Count of Monte Cristo that lies across the Mediterranean Sea from L’Epuisette!
Spooook! What's up?
You make bouillabaisse? What all do you put in yours?
The Dumas story is awesome. I loved reading the Count of Monte Cristo.
I just looked up La Sardine's menu:
La Bouillabaisse "La Sardine"
Shrimp, Clams, Mussels, Calamari, Scallops,
Monkfish and Lobster in Saffron Broth
21.50
Sounds awesome! When're you taking me?
-L.
I always suspected you had some bougie in ya, spook.
/kind-hearted ribbing
L.
I don't "make" bouillabaisse, I create it like Bessie Smith sang the blues, like William H. Johnson wielded a paint brush, like how I use to break dance back in the day.
What do I put in mine? Ha, you might as well ask me what I put in my gumbo! But I will tell you this.
As the foundation of the best gumbo is its roux, consider the roux of bouillabaisse that which is its base and must be prepared before there can be broth. The base must be boiled ever lovingly slow in a well used cast iron stock pock, strained, and then refrigerated for two hours, but never more.
Consider the above suggestion a coupon for bouillabaisse at LaSardine. If, that is I'm ever unmasked in public. Of course unlike Dumas’s “false prince” I am not so easily unmasked.
Chi-yuck :-)
It would not surprise me to have some French blood coursing through my veins, so what would there be to deny?
Nice, Ms. S. Thank you for that.
And Spook is full of surprises.