CREOLE BOUILLABAISSE

Prep Time: 1½ Hours
Yields: 12 Servings

Comment:
Bouillabaisse, the elaborate soup from the south of France, incorporates many different types of seafood into a single dish. This variation of the dish uses Louisiana ingredients alongside traditional French components such as white wine and fine herbs to create a Creole delicacy.

Ingredients:
4 (1½-pound) cleaned red snapper
2 pounds (31–35 count) head-on shrimp
2 pounds live crawfish
12 fresh cleaned crabs
1 cup olive oil
2 cups diced onions
2 cups diced celery
1 cup diced red bell peppers
4 whole tomatoes, diced
¾ cup tomato sauce
¼ cup minced garlic
4 whole bay leaves
2 medium carrots, diced
3 quarts shellfish stock
2 cups dry white wine
1 tsp dried thyme
1 tsp dried basil
1 cup sliced green onions
1 cup chopped parsley
salt and cayenne pepper to taste
granulated garlic to taste

Method:
Pour olive oil into a 2-gallon stockpot. In the pot, layer onions, celery, bell peppers, tomatoes, tomato sauce, garlic, bay leaves and carrots. On top of vegetables, layer whole snapper, shrimp, crawfish and crabs. Do not stir. Cover pot and steam over medium-high heat for 3–5 minutes. Add shellfish stock, white wine, thyme and basil. Bring to a low simmer, approximately 190°F, just below boiling point. Cook 30 minutes then remove from heat. Strain all seafood and vegetables. Discard vegetables and retain stock. Peel shrimp, crawfish and crabs, then bone fish. Bring stock back to a low boil. Add seafood, reduce to a simmer then stir in green onions and parsley. Season to taste using salt and cayenne pepper. Serve by placing a generous amount of seafood in center of a soup bowl and ladling on hot soup.