Bouillabaisse!

Chef Lerner offers up his variation on Bouillabaisse, with a little help from the incomparable Chef Solberg, for your cooking pleasure.

Ingredients for shrimp stock:
1 pound shrimp heads, tails and shells
1 cup onion rough chopped
1/2 cup celery rough chopped
1/2 cup carrot rough chopped
4 cloves garlic; smashed
2 bay leaves
salt and pepper to taste


Ingredients for Bouillabaisse:
2 quarts shrimp stock
1 quart fish stock
1/2 onion rough chopped
1/2 fennel bulb rough chopped
1 celery stalk, rough chopped
1 star anise
1/4 ounce fennel seed
1/2 tablespoon tomato paste
1 tomato roughly chopped
1 quart heavy cream
1/2 tablespoon soy sauce
1/2 pound clams
1/2 pound mussels
1 pound fish (Chef Lerner opted for swordfish but other fish like halibut and cod work equally as well
salt and pepper to taste

To make the stock:
1. In a large pot, combine shrimp heads, tails and shells with 1 cup onion, 1/2 cup carrot, 1/2 cup celery, 4 garlic cloves and 2 bay leaves. Fill with enough water to cover the ingredients and bring the pot to a boil over medium heat.
2. Reduce heat and simmer for 45 minutes to an hour.
3. Strain through a sieve and cool.

To make the Bouillabaisse:
1. In a large sauce pan or pot large enough to hold all of your liquids, saute the onions, celery, fennel and garlic until softened and lightly browned. Add tomato and tomato paste and saute until tomatoes begin to brown but not burn.
2. Add stock, star anise and fennel seed. Bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer for one hour.
3. Add cream and soy sauce and simmer an additional 30 minutes.
4. Strain, check for seasoning and return to a simmer. Add clams mussels and fish; simmer until the clams and mussels open and the fish is fully cooked. Serve and enjoy.