Bouillabaisse

Preparation time: 15 minutes

Cook time: 55 minutes

Nutrition facts (per serving): 358 cal (14g fat, 29g protein, 4g fiber)

Seafood lovers can give the soup a try because it has a good combination of snappers, halibut, and monkfish with clams.

Ingredients (8 servings)

1 (3-inch piece) of baguette, diced

3 tablespoons water

2 garlic cloves

1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper

1/2 teaspoon salt

3 tablespoons olive oil

Bouillabaisse

3 tablespoons olive oil

2 leeks, sliced

1 onion, diced

1 fennel bulb, fronds, cored and diced

4 garlic cloves, chopped

3 coarsely 2 tomatoes, diced

2 bay leaves

Pinch of saffron threads

2 tablespoons pastis

5 cups fish stock

2-pound lobster

8 (1/2-inch-thick) baguette slices,

3 Yukon Gold potatoes, peeled and diced

1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper

2 dozen clams, scrubbed

1-pound monkfish, cut into cubes

1-pound red snapper fillets, cut into cubes

1-pound skinless halibut fillet, cut into 1 1/2-inch piece

Preparation

Soak the bread with the water for 5 minutes. Add the soaked bread, garlic, cayenne, and salt to a food processor and blend until the bread is chopped. Add the olive oil and process until the rouille is smooth. Transfer to a bowl then refrigerate.

In a suitable, deep skillet, heat the 3 tablespoons olive oil. Add the onion, leeks, fennel, and garlic and sauté over medium heat until soft, for 5 minutes. Stir in the tomatoes and sauté for about 5 minutes. Add the saffron, bay leaves, and pastis then bring to a boil. Pour in the fish stock and cook to a simmer. Cook over low heat for about 20 minutes until the vegetables are soft. Remove and discard the bay leaves.

Blend the vegetables and broth in a food processor to a coarse puree. Strain the puree through a fine sieve into the skillet. Bring a large cooking pot filled with water to a boil. Add the lobster and cook for 4 minutes until it turns bright red. Drain and rinse the lobster, then remove the meat, and dice into 1-inch pieces. Preheat the broiler. Set the baguette slices on a suitable baking sheet and broil them for about 1 minute per side. Rub each bread slice liberally with the whole garlic and drizzle with olive oil. Toss in the potatoes and cayenne pepper to the broth and bring to a simmer. Cook the potatoes over medium-high heat until slightly tender, about 10 minutes, season with salt and black pepper. Add the clams, cover, and cook over medium heat for about 3 minutes. Add the monkfish, cover, and simmer for about 2 minutes.

Add the snapper, lobster, and halibut, then cover and simmer for about 4 minutes until the clams are opened. Set 1 baguette toast slice in each shallow bowl. Add the fish and broth over the toasts and garnish with 1 tablespoon of the rouille, fennel fronds, and serve warm.