Commander's Palace Creole Bouillabaisse

Total Time: 2 hrs Preparation Time: 1 hr 30 mins Cook Time: 30 mins

Ingredients

• Servings: 8
• 1/2 cup olive oil
• 1/4 cup garlic, peeled and chopped
• 4 blue crabs (gumbo crabs)
• 1/2 lb shrimp shells (fresh, not frozen, plus heads)
• 1 jalapeno, minced and seeded
• 4 stalks celery, coarsely chopped (no leaves)
• 2 carrots, peeled and coarsely chopped
• 3 leeks, split, cleaned and coarsely chopped
• 3 red bell peppers, seeded and chopped
• 4 large onions, peeled and coarsely chopped
• 6 tomatoes
• 2 quarts fish stock (or 1 quart water plus 1 quart wine)
• 2 fresh thyme sprigs
• 8 basil leaves, stemmed and chopped
• 1 pinch saffron
• 1/2 cup olive oil
• 3 tablespoons garlic, minced
• 24 mussels, scrubbed and de-bearded
• 8 slices seafood sausage (commander's seafood sausage)
• 8 ounces fish fillets, cut into pieces (trout or sheepshead preferred)
• 3/4 cup dry wine (pinot grigio, sauvignon blanc or chardonnay are all good)
• 24 oysters, shucked
• 2 leeks, split, cleaned and julienned
• 2 tomatoes, peeled and chopped
• 1 carrot, peeled and chopped
• 1 red pepper, seeded and julienned
• 8 baby new potatoes, quartered and blanched for five minutes
• 24 jumbo shrimp, peeled with tails left on
• 1 lb crabmeat
• salt and pepper, to taste
• fresh parsley, minced (for garnish)

Recipe

• 1 to make the broth base: heat olive oil in a large pot; saute the garlic until golden.
• 2 add the crab and shrimp shells; saute for ten minutes.
• 3 add the rest of the vegetables and cook until tender, about 20 mintues.
• 4 add stock or water and wine, herbs and saffron; simmer for an hour.
• 5 puree in batches and strain.
• 6 to make the bouillabaisse: in a large pan, heat 1/4 cup of olive oil over medium heat and saute garlic until golden.
• 7 add mussels, shrimp, seafood sausage and fish; cook for about five minutes.
• 8 pour in the whie wine and cook, scraping the bottom of the pan to remove any browned bits.
• 9 add 8 cups of the broth and bring to a boil.
• 10 in a medium pan, heat 1/4 cup olive oil and saute the vegetables until tender.
• 11 add oysters and crab meat to the broth and seafood mixture.
• 12 add sauteed vegetables to the mixture and season to taste with salt and pepper.