La Bourride (Garlic Fish Stew) Update from France

Loris and I made this fish stew last night --- and it was fantastic.   We couldn't stop thinking about how good it was.   It was easy too, although some of the techniques were new to us, so having two cooks was great.

We have fish and seafood theme for this visit, and we started the week with Halibut with Sesame Oil and Chili, followed the next day by Grilled BC Spot Prawns.   We made stock with the prawn heads and shells. We got our prawns live at T & T Market on Abbott and our halibut from Stongs.


The third day, we made this extraordinary stew following the recipe in The Country Cooking of France by Anne Willan.   We are going to spend three months in Languedoc this year so we chose a recipe from that region.

You can use a variety of fish but we chose two firm fish --- one white and one pink. You need at least half a pound of fish per person or serving.   We got our fish at Finest at Sea on Arbutus.   If you use less firm fish, add the tender fish after the firm fish and cook it for a shorter time.

The following recipe makes two bowls of stew but you can easily increase it.

Ingredients:
1/2 pound sockeye salmon
1/2 pound ling cod
1/2 cup aioli
2 croutes
olive oil
1 bouquet garni
1/2 tsp. fennel seeds
1 strip of orange zest
1 garlic clove, unpeeled and crushed
3 cups fish stock
1/2 onion, diced
salt and pepper
2 egg yolks

Instructions:
Make the fish stock the day before or use stock from your freezer (see below).
Make the aioli (see below).
Make the croutes (see below).
Wash and dry the fish, and cut it into 3/4 inch chunks.
Make the bouquet garni and prepare spices.   I used a spice ball for the fennel seeds, garlic, and orange zest and tied the bouquet garni with a piece of cloth.   You could also tie all the spices and herbs in a piece of cheesecloth.  I used summer savory, parsley, and dill for the bouquet garni, but you could use almost any herbs (e.g. fresh bay leaf, thyme).
Chop the onion.
Add the bouquet garni, other flavourings, onion, and stock to a large pot, and bring to a boil.  
Add the fish and simmer for 8 minutes.
Using a slotted spoon, remove the fish to a side plate and cover with foil.
Whisk the aioli with the egg yolks in a medium bowl.  Whisk some of the hot fish broth into the aioli and then stir the mixture into the pot on very low heat, whisking constantly until it thickens to the consistency of cream.   Do not let it get too hot or it will curdle.
Ladle broth into warmed bowls.  Add pieces of fish, set a croute on top, and serve.
If you have more than enough for one bowl each, serve the broth in a warmed tureen, the croutes and the fish on separate platters.   

Fish Stock
Save the prawn heads and shells.
Put them in a large stainless steel pot.
Add cold tap water.
Simmer for an hour.
Cool and refrigerate until you need it.  
Pour the stock through a large sieve or colander into a large pottery or glass bowl.
Measure out what you need and freeze the rest, by pouring the stock into your largest glass measuring cup and then into glass jars.

Aioli
Aioli is olive oil mayonnaise with garlic and is good with grilled fish and Bourride.
Ingredients:
Makes 3/4 cup, which is more than enough for the Bourride recipe.  You can double the recipe.
1 egg yolk
1 garlic clove, mashed with side of knife
1 Tbsp. fresh lemon juice
salt and pepper
3/4 cup olive oil
Instructions:
Put the garlic clove on a cutting board and mash and scrape with the side of your chef knife with a bit of salt to aid the mashing process, until you have a mush.   Pounding the garlic like this develops the flavour.  (You can also pound all the ingredients together in a mortar and pestle.)
Put the garlic, egg yolk, lemon juice, salt and pepper into a medium pottery or glass bowl.
Add the oil in a very slow thin stream, while whisking constantly.
Taste and adjust seasoning with more garlic, lemon juice, salt or pepper.   The sauce should be thick enough to stand a spoon in it.
Measure out what you need for the Bourride and store the rest in the frig for no more than 12 hours.   (Before stirring cold aioli, bring it to room temperature or it may separate.)

Croutes
Toast 2 -1/2 inch slices of good bread and toast.  You can use a baguette or any other bread.   We used Florin's country bread from Beyond Bread on 4th (the best bakery in town by a large margin).
Drizzle toasted bread with olive oil.  
Set aside until the stew is done.


Notes from France:
I made this soup here in France with lotte (monkfish) for the white fish.   This is a very firm but tender white fish, delicious flavour.  I had it in a restaurant with cream sauce with ceps and   chanterelles and girolles, eggplant park, and chestnuts.   Had to find it in the market and buy some.   Fresh fish markets are fabulous --- soooo fresh, and the market stall owners are very helpful.    Here in Saint Pierre, there are fresh oysters, mussels, and shrimp available every day in the open air market on the sea front.   
We made the aioli with local purple garlic, local olive oil, and local eggs.   It was so good, we spread the leftovers from the soup on meat, sandwiches, pate.   In the market here, there is an olive lady who sells olive oil too.   You taste them all first before buying.   The fresh green olives are sooo good.   You store them in water the minute you get home and eat them within a month.   The black olives, you store in oil, and eat them within a year.   They are swimming in enormous vats, and they lady dips them out with a large dipper and pops them into a plastic bag.   I have them every day with gin and tonic around 5 pm.