Booya for Bouillabaisse | Stew, Fish, Bouillabaisse, One, Recipe

Booya for Bouillabaisse

It's rainy and windy. Going out on or into the water these days puts a chill in the bones. Stew, hot stew is the thing. Some may wax poetic about beef stew, lamb stew or curries. For seafood lovers there's only one kind of stew and that's bouillabaise (pronounced "buoy-ya-bess" or "...bays")

It's one pot cooking... and easy... if you ignore the massive prep work. Classic recipes call for seven types of absolutely fresh fish plus shellfish. Whether or not you call the creation "bouillabaisse" or simply fish stew is a matter of personal style. Uber-foodies insist that the only fish stews with a right to the title "bouillabaisse" are made and eaten in Marseilles with fish caught in the waters nearby and rowed ashore in a wooden dory by a guy named Jaques who's smoking Gitanes and wearing a beret. More casual folks, count me as one, think any fish stew with a three or more types of fish and a smattering of mussels ought to qualify. The mussels are the thing. Black shells floating in a soupy broth make the dish look like something from France and give it a right to a name I cannot possibly spell without assistance. Here are some links for recipes and more: