A kind of Boulliabaisse

French classics by a renegade Australian

I love French food (that’s surely not a surprise to you) and, given that I am hoping to publish a cookbook on Normandy and its produce sometime, extensive research is essential … well, you get the picture. However, it must be said that I don’t mind bending the rules every now and again. In fact, let’s face it, as anyone who knows me will aver, I have a tendency to ditch them altogether! That, combined with a dislike of waste, means some of my recipes end up being less than strictly adhering to the “correct” version of French cooking. More on that shortly.

Rule breaking aside, I have been learning how to deal with the fact that I need prescription glasses (either that, or longer arms!). I was aware that a visit to the optometrist was needed and so an appointment was made and off I went. I then was told by the aghast doctor, after informing him that I hadn’t seen an optometrist since I couldn’t remember when, that one is supposed to see one’s optometrist every two years! “Whoops” was all I could muster. And so with the arrival of progressive glasses I am now moving my head like a theatre puppet trying to figure out when to look up and when to look down.

Thus, suitably bespectacled, I decided to refer to my French recipe books and dive in where I am happiest, the challenge of what to cook next with a '“no waste” brief. Noddy head and occasional blurry words included. I had a lunch to prepare for Tuesday in the middle of a super busy patch. What to make? So I decided it was time to explore the “ leftovers” in the freezer, my kind of dream cooking. I often have small remainders of stocks and sauces, such is my desire to never waste anything. I say small but, in truth, there are containers upon containers filled with odds and ends that were so good I could not bring myself to simply dispose of them, but prefer to use them in my cooking experiments. So this, then, is the beginning of a sauce which I like to call “that which can never be repeated”.

Today, it manifested itself as the main course for a lunch for six people. I was thinking bouillabaisse. Not a traditional one, obviously, but a rule-breaker that incorporated some my freezer “seconds”. As is my want, the sauce for the dish came from five different containers from the freezer, incorporating a rassum sauce, a trout “gravy”, marron stock, a prawn stock and - this is the most suprising one - a strawberry and tomato relish. It shouldn’t have worked, but it blended right on in. I then found one last container at the far back of the freezer labelled “mussel emulsion” which perfectly fit the brief. One last rule break - why serve rouille on toasted bread when you can serve a mussel rouille instead ? It all came together in a way that I was really happy about. There was a mirepoix to start before adding all the remnants of things discovered in the freezer. On a whim I decided the dish would also benefit from a few tomatoes that had been cooked on the habachi, for some added smokiness, and some garlic as well. After a gentle simmer for about an hour, I let the sauce rest so that the flavours came together. Another 30 minutes on, I popped the sauce in the blender to bring it to a not-so-fine consistency, then passed it through a mouli. I tasted it and with a smile of satisfaction on my face realised a kind of bouillabaisse was born! Smoky, underlying tones of a bisque, a little hint of chilli and of course - sweet tomatoes.

Later in the week, I jumped on a train to Avallon with my former boss, to cook a dinner for he and his partner, one that I had long-promised to them as their wedding gift. A dinner for eight, I knew it was going to be fun, not just because it was good for the soul to to be able to spend time with them both but also to be back in Burgundy, albeit in a different part.

Avallon is a small medieval village which is super charming and full of important historical buildings. The Tour de l'Horloge is an eleventh-century clock which still chimes every hour, and contains a museum on the second floor of the tower. My mates live very close to the Tour and so it was delightful to hear the bells ringing throughout the day. We arrived on Friday late afternoon and after a quick nap (train rides can make one very sleepy) we got ready for dinner at Hotel De La Poste.

The Hotel was recently bought by Julian Cohen, who is a bon vivant and quite famous in France as the former host of the French equivalent of Antiques Roadshow. He is renowned for his blue glasses, which he was duly wearing when we arrived. The Hotel has been home to various luminaries - Serge Gainsborough and even Elizabeth Taylor were known to have hung out there for a time. Given Julian’s background as an antiques dealer, you can imagine the attention given to the furnishings. Opulent and stylish are two words that come to mind. Dinner is a choice of set menus, we chose the six course option (such restraint!). There were some lovely moments - for me the highlight was the mint sorbet with slices of melon sitting on an almond biscuit. Beautifully refreshing on a warm summer’s evening!

After dinner, Julian took us to the bar which was still under construction but had all the makings of being THE fun place to be in Avallon, once finished. There was an imposing side board - a turn of the century piece that Julian sourced - and wood paneling all round. This is a bar that is set to thrill. With the kitchen on the hunt for a Michelin star, I wish Julian and his endeavours success!

Saturday bought market joy, it’s always fun to discover markets in France. And Avallon has an outstanding market. Partly outdoors and partly in a lovely round building at the edge of the town square, I may have uttered a squeal of delight or two as I discovered the fromagerie, the poissonerie and a local farmer. He had some really amazing veg, pencil leeks, stunning fresh herbs and beets to die for. I stood in line, willing the customer in front of me not to purchase the last four tomatoes but, alas, my telepathic powers were lacking so I missed out.

Once again, I decided the dinner I cooked would be an adventure into the “remainders” and had brought some boxes with me from Paris. I plumped for a macadamia and mushroom salad with a miso dressing; a lovely piece of lieu jeaune from the market with a fermented tomato sauce, made more complex with the addition of mandarin kosho, and for dessert a sesame parfait paired with a burnt lime and apple parfait, candied beets and fresh almonds, topped with a chocolate-sesame seed crunch. Let’s just say that dish was the winner of the evening. I went to bed a little tired but very happy.

And the Bouillabaisse :

I offer a toned down version of bouillabaisse. This one is from Guillame Brahimi, a wonderful chef from France who now calls himself an Australian too. Have fun with your own experimentation - be a rule-breaker!

Ingredients :

3 red mullet, cleaned and scaled

3 leatherjackets, heads removed, skinned and cleaned

3 rock cod, cleaned and scaled

olive oil

1 thick strip of orange zest

1 fennel bulb, sliced

2 celery stalks, sliced

2 tomatoes, chopped

2 garlic cloves, crushed with the back of a knife

1 handful of thyme sprigs

3 tbsp tomato paste

2 tbsp fennel seeds

1 generous pinch of saffron threads

100 ml Pernod

fish stock

3 garlic cloves, finely chopped

1 generous pinch of saffron threads

sea salt

Potato rouille

500g Desiree potatoes

3 egg yolks

1 tbsp Dijon mustard

750 ml grapeseed oil

3 garlic cloves, finely chopped

generous pinch saffron threads

sea salt, to taste

To serve

1 baguette

500 g mussels, cleaned and de-bearded

12 scallops on the half-shell

250 g picked crabmeat

chopped flat-leaf parsley

Instructions

Use a cleaver to chop through the body of each fish at around 3 cm intervals – the fish may or may not stay connected in one piece.

Heat a generous splash of oil in a pot over medium–high heat and sauté the fish (heads included) for 5 minutes. Add the orange zest, sliced fennel, celery, tomato, garlic and thyme and mix well. Stir in the tomato paste, fennel seeds, saffron and Pernod and cook for 3 minutes. Slowly pour in enough fish stock to just cover the ingredients and simmer for around 40 minutes.

While the soup is cooking, make the rouille. Boil the potatoes whole in their skins until soft. Meanwhile, sit a large mixing bowl on a folded damp cloth (to keep it stable) and add the egg yolks and mustard. Whisk well. Add a little grapeseed oil and whisk until well incorporated. Keep adding small amounts of oil and whisking well after each addition. The mayonnaise should begin to thicken once about 60–80 ml of oil has been added. Then you can start adding the oil in a thin and steady stream down the side of the bowl while you continue whisking.

When the potatoes are cooked, drain and leave to cool for a few minutes before peeling off their skins. Place in a wide bowl and mash roughly with a fork. Add the garlic, saffron and salt to taste and continue mashing to combine. Fold in the mayonnaise.

When the soup is cooked, tip the contents (bones and all) into a blender and blend until smooth. Do this in several batches if necessary. Pass through a fine sieve back into the pot, pressing out as much liquid and flavour as you can.

When ready to serve, slice the baguette thinly and toast the slices in a hot oven until crisp and golden. Return the soup to the heat and check the seasoning. When simmering, add the mussels and cook until their shells open.

Lay the scallops (raw on their shells) around the base of a large serving bowl (or in individual serving bowls). Scatter with the crabmeat. Ladle the hot soup and mussels over the top. Sprinkle with parsley. Spread potato rouille generously onto the baguette croutons and float them on top of the soup.

Set the table :

This one partly inspired by France and partly inspired by Italy. The dish is my bouilbaisse with a prawn and scallop ravioli. Garnished with a Calabrian basil leaf.

Stay tuned for Italian cooking school part two next week.

Happy cooking everyone,

Kath