This recipe is, of course, a re-imagining of the very traditional fish stew of Marseilles. Like many genius-y French things, bouillabaisse was born of convenience and pragmatism; fishermen tossed the bony fish they could not sell into a pot of sea water along with some garlic and fennel (and later tomatoes), cooked it for hours, and dreamed of the day when spoiled over-fed Americans would make it with a pinch of saffron from a tiny plastic bag that comes inside a small glass jar and costs $20 bucks. What a laugh they must have had. If only they’d patented it.
Why Cook’s Illustrated felt the need to create a chicken version of this dish I don’t know. Maybe they needed a break from measuring the porosity of plastic storage bags with a micrometer. Regardless, it was a great idea especially since it meant I could now serve it to my mother who eats nothing from the sea.
The result is sophisticated comfort food with a fascinating collections of flavors. The base itself is impressive enough but when you add croutons (which make anything better) and a rouille (kind of a bread-based mayonnaise) it’s a dish you will want to share with everyone.
In addition to the pricy saffron, you’re going to have to shell out for a bottle of Pernod too (we have clearly left the humble Provencal fisherman far behind). Well worth it though.
Chicken Bouillabaisse is from the November, 2009 issue of Cook’s Illustrated.
This really does sound delicious. The recipe I use for shrimp creole is one of my favorite dishes; I have been making it for thirty years! My assistant, who is 23 years old, and I have started cooking dinner together on Thursday nights. When she heads off to graduate school in the fall, she will be prepared to eat well! But she hates shrimp, so I thought we could adapt the shrimp creole to chicken creole – sort of along the same idea as this, don’t you think? (Or we could convince her that shrimp really is delicious.)
I made this when it first came out and loved it! I haven’t found fennel since in my little Okla town, but I still have the Pernod and saffron! Love your blog.
I love the flavor of bouillabaisse, so being able to do a chicken version is really appealing to me, since I live some distance from the sea and beyond having to shell out for saffron also have to shell out for fish! Thanks for pointing me to this recipe.
I was wondering what you could possibly be thinking when you said you wondered why Cook’s Illustrated thought to substitute Chicken for fish in the Bouillabaisse — they were thinking of me, of course — your Mother!