Seafood bouillabaisse. Making a fine dining dish at home that is great for serving guests or for special occasion.
The star of this dish is not just the seafood. For us, the real star is the rich and flavourful broth.
This recipe is good for 4 pax.
To make the broth, start by melting 2 slices of butter in a pot. Add 10 to 12 prawn heads. Fry for about 3 minutes or until the prawn heads turn orange and when you can inhale in the buttery prawny aroma.
Add 1/2 onion, 1 carrot, 1 stalk of celery and 1 stalk of leek that are sliced thinly. Stir and cook for about 3 minutes for the vegetables to cook down slightly.
Add 150g of barramundi that is cut in chunks. I normally cut a fillet of barramundi and use the uglier chunks for this part and use the nicer chunks for serving later. Stir and cook for a couple of minutes.
Add 1/3 bottle of white wine. We use Chardonnay.
Add 1 cup of canned peeled tomatoes. We always prefer San Marzano tomatoes.
Stir and break the tomatoes using a spatula. Stir and mix.
Pour in 800ml of water. Season with 1/2 tsp of salt and some black pepper. Bring it to a boil. Then lower the heat and simmer for 30 minutes.
Remove the pot from the stove. Use a hand blender to blend the stock until it’s smooth and without any chunks of fish, prawn heads or vegetables. You will see a beautiful golden broth.
For a more refined version, use a strainer to strain the broth to get a really smooth and clearer broth. No worries if the broth is too much. Keep the broth in a container and you can store in the freezer for weeks.
Now, the final part. Scoop 10 to 12 ladles of the broth into a pot. If you find the broth not clear enough, use a finer sieve to strain again. But this is optional.
Add 12 to 16 clams. Heat up the broth and bring it to a boil. Then lower the heat and simmer for about 15 minutes.
Add 10 to 12 prawns, 8 to 10 mussels, 8 to 10 scallops, 200g of barramundi chunks and 200g of salmon chunks. Cook in medium heat for about 6 minutes. Add more salt if necessary. Then off the heat.
Take out the seafood and arrange them nicely on a serving bowl or casserole. Then pour the golden broth over the seafood. Strain the broth if you don’t want any of the seafood residue to be served.
Garnish with some dill. It looks pretty presentable for your guests.
You can always make the broth beforehand and store the broth in the chiller. Then cook the last part just before your guests arrive or even in their presence.