Pink of Perfection

Here’s what always trips me up in my effort to make bouillabaisse: you gotta buy, like, forty million kinds of fish (which brings your grocery bill to a billion dollars), and not to make Julia roll over in her grave, but that’s just not my bag. What if, though, we kept the basic flavors of the classic Provençal stew but subbed in cheap chicken legs? You feel me?

This stew still takes a long ass time, but it’s a hands-off kind of endeavor. As I was chopping the fennel and potatoes, tucking in the thyme, and drowning the whole thing in fruity olive oil and dry white wine, I realized my real motive: I just wanted to eat the rouille.

Bouillabaisse without rouille, they say, is like Marseille without sunshine. It’s a kicked up kind of mayonnaise that you can stir directly into your stew or spread on slices of grilled bread that you float in your bowl. And while there are many variations on this recipe out there, I find myself most drawn to the version I first saw Jacques and Julia make: roasted red pepper, bread crumbs, garlic, and cayenne.

I do wish that this stew were more a stunner in the looks department, because when it comes to flavor, it’s a real knock-out.

Chicken Bouillabaisse
adapted from Bistro Cooking
Serves 4-6

4 tomatoes, chopped
2 large onions, quartered
4 garlic cloves, crushed
2 large fennel bulbs with feathery leaves attached, coarsely chopped
3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
1/3 cup dry white wine
generous pinch of saffron
small handful of fresh thyme, or several teaspoons dried thyme
4 bay leaves
4 chicken legs with thighs attached, skin removed
1 pound Yukon Gold potatoes, diced
2 cups chicken stock

The day before you plan to serve the dish, combine the tomatoes, onions, garlic, fennel, olive oil, wine, saffron, herbs and seasonings in a nonreactive large covered casserole or Dutch oven. Stir to blend. Add the chicken legs and thighs, and stir to coat chicken. Cover and refrigerate for at least eight hours.

Remove Dutch oven from the refrigerator one hour before you begin to cook it. Over moderately-low heat, add chicken stock and cook chicken, covered, for about 30 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add the potatoes and simmer until tender, another 35-40 minutes. Season with salt and pepper. Fish (ha!) out chicken legs, shred meat, and return to pot, discarding bones. Ladle stew into bowls, and serve with toasted bread and rouille (recipe below).

Rouille
adapted from Epicurious

You could make a thriftier version of this sauce by puréeing prepared mayonnaise with the roasted red peppers, garlic, cayenne, and lemon juice.

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