The Cook's Illustrated Cookbook (51 page)
Read The Cook's Illustrated Cookbook Online
Authors: The Editors at America's Test Kitchen
Tags: #Cooking
WHY THIS RECIPE WORKS
This classic Provençal fisherman’s stew is a tough one to translate for American home kitchens. Most recipes call for expensive, hard-to-find varieties of fish, a homemade fish stock, and a host of diverse ingredients, not to mention hours upon hours standing at the stove. We wanted to bring bouillabaisse stateside without sacrificing flavor or a paycheck. For our streamlined and economical stew, we simplified the homemade fish stock with fish frames from the fishmonger. Ditching the obscure kinds of seafood, we chose appropriate and available varieties; marinating our seafood mix in the easy-to-find ingredients of saffron, Pernod (an anise-flavored liqueur), and garlic instilled it with all the great flavors of Provence (but with minimal effort on our part). Finally, we topped off our fish stew with garlic-rubbed croutons and a dollop of heady rouille.
SERVES 8 TO 10
For the white wine, we prefer white Côtes de Provence. If you decide to make the fish stock ahead, it must be used within 2 days or frozen and defrosted. You will need a pot that holds at least 8 quarts for this recipe. We recommend buying “dry” scallops, those without chemical additives. Dry scallops will look ivory or pinkish and feel tacky; wet scallops look bright white and feel slippery. Use only the freshest fish. We prefer monkfish, sea bass, and ocean perch or red snapper.
CLICK HERE
for instructions on debearding mussels and
CLICK HERE
for instructions on cleaning fish frames. The chopped vegetables for the stock must be fairly small (no larger than 1 inch in diameter) and evenly cut.
FISH AND MARINADE
1¹⁄ | pounds skinless fish fillets, cut into 1- to 1¹⁄ |
8 | ounces medium shrimp (41 to 50 per pound) peeled and deveined, shells reserved |
8 | ounces large sea scallops, tendons removed and scallops halved |
¹⁄ | cup shredded fresh basil |
¹⁄ | cup olive oil |
3 | tablespoons Pernod |
3 | garlic cloves, minced |
2 | teaspoons salt |
¹⁄ | teaspoon saffron threads |
¹⁄ | teaspoon red pepper flakes |
FISH STOCK
2 | onions, chopped |
1 | fennel bulb, stalks discarded, halved, cored, and chopped |
1 | large carrot, chopped |
¹⁄ | cup olive oil |
3 | garlic heads, outer papery skin removed, heads intact |
1 | (750-ml) bottle dry white wine |
2 | (28-ounce) cans diced tomatoes, drained with juice reserved |
3 | pounds fish frames, cleaned and cut into 6-inch pieces |
4 | cups water |
2 | large leeks, white and light green parts only, halved lengthwise, chopped, and washed thoroughly |
1 | bunch fresh parsley, stems only |
5 | sprigs fresh thyme |
2 | bay leaves |
2 | teaspoons whole black peppercorns |
2 | teaspoons salt |
8 | (2-inch) strips orange zest (2 oranges) |
¹⁄ | teaspoon saffron threads |
STEW
2 | pounds mussels, scrubbed and debearded |
GARLIC TOASTS | |
RED PEPPER ROUILLE |
1. FOR THE FISH AND MARINADE:
Combine all ingredients (except shrimp shells) in large bowl. Toss well, cover flush with plastic wrap, and refrigerate 4 hours.
2. FOR THE FISH STOCK:
Meanwhile, stir onions, fennel, carrot, and oil together in large stockpot or Dutch oven. Cover pot and set over medium-low heat; cook, stirring frequently, until vegetables are fragrant, about 15 minutes. Place garlic in large heavy-duty zipper-lock bag and seal. Smash garlic with rolling pin or meat pounder until flattened. Add smashed garlic to vegetables and continue to cook, stirring frequently, until vegetables are dry and just beginning to stick, about 15 minutes longer. (Take care not to let garlic burn.) Add wine and stir to scrape pot bottom, then add tomatoes with their juice, fish frames, shrimp shells, water, leeks, parsley stems, thyme, bay leaves, peppercorns, and salt. Bring to simmer over medium-high heat, reduce heat to medium-low, and simmer, pressing down on fish bones occasionally with spoon to submerge, until stock is rich and flavorful, about 1 hour.
3.
Strain stock through large fine-mesh strainer into large bowl or container (you should have about 9 cups); rinse and wipe out stockpot and return strained stock to pot. Bring stock to boil over high heat and simmer briskly until reduced to 8 cups, about 10 minutes. Off heat, add orange zest and saffron and let stand for 10 minutes to infuse flavors. Strain stock through fine-mesh strainer; set aside.
4. FOR THE STEW:
Return fish broth to clean stockpot and bring to boil over high heat. Stir in marinated fish and shellfish and mussels, cover pot, and return to simmer; cook for 7 minutes, stirring occasionally. Off heat, cover and let stand until fish is cooked through and mussels have opened, about 2 minutes. Season with salt and pepper to taste, ladle into bowls, and float 1 garlic toast topped with dollop of rouille in each bowl. Serve immediately.
MAKES 10
1 | pound country-style French bread, cut into ten ¹⁄ |
6 | garlic cloves, peeled and halved |
3 | tablespoons olive oil |
Position oven rack 6 inches from broiler element and heat broiler. Arrange bread slices in single layer on baking sheet; broil until lightly toasted, about 1¹⁄
2
minutes. Flip slices and rub second side of each slice with raw garlic, then brush with oil. Broil until light golden brown, about 1¹⁄
2
minutes longer.
MAKES ABOUT 1 CUP
CLICK HERE
for instructions on roasting bell peppers.
1 | large red bell pepper, roasted, peeled, and cut into large pieces |
2 | ounces country-style French bread, crusts removed and cut into large cubes (about 2 cups) |
2 | garlic cloves, minced |
¹⁄ | teaspoon cayenne pepper |
¹⁄ | cup extra-virgin olive oil |
Salt |
Process roasted pepper, bread, garlic, and cayenne in food processor until smooth, about 20 seconds. With processor running, drizzle oil in; process until rouille has thick, mayonnaise-like consistency. Season with salt to taste.
WHY THIS RECIPE WORKS
We wanted to convert rustic Tuscan bean soup into a hearty stew. Determined to avoid tough, exploded beans in our stew, we soaked the beans overnight in salted water, which softened the skins. Then we experimented with cooking times and temperatures, discovering that gently cooking the beans in a 250-degree oven produced perfectly cooked beans that stayed intact. We added tomatoes toward the end of cooking, since their acid kept the beans from becoming too soft. To complete our stew, we chose other traditional Tuscan flavors, including pancetta, kale, lots of garlic, and a sprig of rosemary.
SERVES 8
We prefer the creamier texture of beans soaked overnight for this recipe. If you’re short on time, quick-soak them: Place the rinsed beans in a large heat-resistant bowl. Bring 8 cups water and 3 tablespoons salt to a boil. Pour the water over the beans and let them sit for 1 hour. Drain and rinse the beans well before proceeding with step 2. If pancetta is unavailable, substitute 4 slices of bacon.
Salt and pepper | |
1 | pound dried cannellini beans (2 cups), picked over and rinsed |
1 | tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil, plus extra for drizzling |
6 | ounces pancetta, cut into ¹⁄ |
1 | large onion, chopped |
2 | carrots, peeled and cut into ¹⁄ |
2 | celery ribs, cut into ¹⁄ |
8 | garlic cloves, peeled and crushed |
4 | cups low-sodium chicken broth |
3 | cups water |
2 | bay leaves |
1 | pound kale or collard greens, stemmed and leaves chopped into 1-inch pieces |
1 | (14.5-ounce) can diced tomatoes, drained |
1 | sprig fresh rosemary |
8 | slices country white bread, 1¹⁄ |
1.
Dissolve 3 tablespoons salt in 4 quarts cold water in large bowl or container. Add beans and soak at room temperature for at least 8 hours or up to 24 hours. Drain and rinse well.
2.
Adjust oven rack to lower-middle position and heat oven to 250 degrees. Heat oil and pancetta in Dutch oven over medium heat. Cook, stirring occasionally, until pancetta is lightly browned and fat has rendered, 6 to 10 minutes. Add onion, carrots, and celery and cook, stirring occasionally, until vegetables are softened and lightly browned, 10 to 16 minutes. Stir in garlic and cook until fragrant, about 1 minute. Stir in broth, water, bay leaves, and soaked beans. Increase heat to high and bring to simmer. Cover pot, transfer to oven, and cook until beans are almost tender (very center of beans will still be firm), 45 minutes to 1 hour.
3.
Remove pot from oven and stir in kale and tomatoes. Return pot to oven and continue to cook until beans and greens are fully tender, 30 to 40 minutes longer.
4.
Remove pot from oven and submerge rosemary in stew. Cover and let stand 15 minutes. Discard bay leaves and rosemary and season stew with salt and pepper to taste. If desired, use back of spoon to press some beans against side of pot to thicken stew. Serve over toasted bread, if desired, and drizzle with olive oil.
This variation has much more meat and is made with crinkly savoy cabbage.
Substitute 1¹⁄
2
pounds sweet Italian sausage, casings removed, for pancetta; ¹⁄
2
head savoy cabbage, cut into 1-inch pieces, for kale; and 1 sprig fresh oregano for rosemary. Cook sausage in oil in step 2, breaking meat into small pieces with wooden spoon until it loses its raw color, about 8 minutes. Transfer sausage to paper towel–lined plate and place in refrigerator. Proceed with recipe as directed, stirring sausage and cabbage into stew along with tomatoes in step 3.
Omit pancetta, substituting 3 cups vegetable broth for the chicken broth, and increase water to 4¹⁄
2
cups. Microwave ¹⁄
2
ounce dried porcini mushrooms with ¹⁄
2
cup water in covered bowl until steaming, about 1 minute. Let stand until the mushrooms soften, about 5 minutes. Drain mushrooms through fine-mesh strainer lined with coffee filter, reserve liquid, and mince mushrooms. Stir mushrooms and reserved liquid into broth in step 2.
To speed up this recipe, we used canned beans and cooked the stew completely on the stovetop.
Replace dried cannellini beans with 4 (15-ounce) cans cannellini beans, drained and rinsed well. Skip step 1 and omit oven instructions from the recipe. Reduce amount of chicken broth to 3 cups and water amount to 2 cups.
