French Provincial Cooking - Elizabeth David [172]
‘The secret of a successful bouillabaisse may be summed up as follows: live fish in large variety; good olive oil and top quality saffron. The only difficulty in executing the dish consists in bringing it to the boil rapidly and fiercely.
‘Every locality in Provence has, of course, its claim to the genuine bouillabaisse. But the true one comes from Marseille. For is it not in the waters of the beautiful bay of Marseille that all the requisite varieties of brilliant-hued rock fish, which go to make up the excellence of a bouillabaisse, are to be found?
‘Those who have attempted to complicate the simple recipe for a bouillabaisse have succeeded only in spoiling its character; it is a mistake to cook the fish in a previously prepared broth of small fry; it is a culinary heresy to add white wine to a bouillabaisse (although it is indispensable on the table with it). It is superfluous to thicken the sauce, even with a purée of sea-urchins. All such elaborations are simply a fashion of disguising the poverty or lack of freshness of the fish. Bearing these considerations in mind, here is the recipe for bouillabaisse, in its simplicity and integrity.
‘For ten people, take about 5 lb. of different fish, comprising rascasse,21 angler fish [baudroie], weaver [vive], John Dory [St. Pierre], sea-hen [galinette],22 whiting and two crawfish [langoustes]. Scale, gut and wash these fish, in sea-water if possible, and cut them in slices.
‘In a heavy pan, wider than it is high, put 2 onions, 4 tomatoes and 4 cloves of garlic, all coarsely chopped; moisten with a decilitre (5 oz.) of best quality olive oil, add 2 sprigs of fennel leaves, a bay leaf and a good pinch of powdered saffron; season with oz. of coarse salt and oz. of pepper. Mix all well together, and add the firm fish, keeping the soft ones (galinette, John Dory and whiting) to add 5 minutes later. Pour over boiling water to cover the fish, taking into account those which are to be added. Put the pan over a very fierce flame and give it 12 to 15 minutes at a very rapid boil. It is upon this fast boiling that success depends.
‘In the meantime, cut a long loaf into slices; dry them a few seconds in the oven but without letting them take colour.
‘When the bouillabaisse is ready, arrange the slices of fish carefully in a dish, and through a sieve pour the bouillon over the bread arranged in a deep vegetable dish. Sprinkle with parsley.
‘The bouillabaisse should be served when the guests are at table. Which is to say that it must not wait, but be waited for.
‘In a well-cooked bouillabaisse, the particular flavour of each fish should be distinct. The pepper should be slightly dominant; the broth should be naturally thickened by the violent boiling.
‘I should advise that the heads of the fish, with the exception of those of the rascasses, should be sacrificed to the broth. Cut them in several pieces and, when the fish has been removed to its serving dish, it will do no harm to the broth to let it boil fiercely another five minutes before straining it over the bread.’
LA BOUILLABAISSE DES PÊCHEURS
‘I was a child of ten. He was called Bauzan, my fisherman at Canet, our fishing rendezvous on the banks of the étang de Berre. And before eating his bouillabaisse, I used to savour the delights of watching him fish for it.
‘Hardly had my grandfather’s creaking but reliable old wagon, dusty from having carried us so far through the scrub, come to a standstill than I, with what alacrity, leap to the ground, and into the arms of my friend the old sea-wolf.
‘ “Quick, let’s get off.”
‘ “The mistral is blowing; we shall dance about a bit.”
‘ “Oh, how lovely—.”
‘The more the little cockleshell danced in the waves, the happier I was. Actually, there was no danger. Bauzan, who had been round the world five times, took the helm, and the “sailor,” his third son (the two eldest