Wow, I feel like it has been forever since I’ve been at the #SundaySupper table!
Without realizing it, I’ve managed to miss an entire month of #SundaySupper events, but I am back today with a very special one, near and dear to my heart. Today we celebrate the life and legend of Julia Child. If Julia was still alive today she would be celebrating her hundredth birthday on August 15th! In honor of her birthday, we are celebrating by making her dishes to share with you and your family.
Julia Child is loved in my household, I grew up watching The French Chef reruns on PBS, and episodes of Julia and Jacques with my mom and dad. My mother loves Julia so much that she even dressed up as her one Halloween no so long ago ( sorry mom, I just had to share that!)
Even today, I need to stop what I am doing if I come across an episode on TV. No matter how many times I’ve watched an episode, seeing Julia’s joy just makes me smile. You could tell that she was just so full of life and passionate about food and cooking.
Today, I’ve chosen to adapt her recipe of Bouillabaisse a la Marsielle for you. In The French Chef cookbook Julia Child describes Bouillabaisse as “…a fish chowder; whole small fish or large fish cut into serving pieces are boiled in a deliciously aromatic fish broth.”
She suggests picking six or more varieties of fish for a more interesting flavor. Even though I was just cooking for the two of us, I still managed to get 5 varieties of fish and shellfish into my bouillabaisse!
3-4
I've paired this recipe down to serve 3-4 people people instead of the original 6-8. A note about the stock, in the original recipe, Julia calls for 3-4 pounds of fish bones or shells or if they aren't available to substitute a mixture of bottled clam juice and more water. Since I wasn't able to procure fish bones and didn't have enough shrimp shells for a flavorful stock, I made some substitutions of my own. I personally don't care for bottled clam juice, instead I used low sodium prepared fish stock and also included the shrimp shells. All in all, I ended up with a very flavorful stock that I was happy with, in my recipe I will give you the option to use fish bones or prepared stock. Finally, Julia also says to use fresh tomatoes or tomato paste, I used both for a more robust flavor profile.
Ingredients
- 1 cup onions, sliced
- 1/2 cup leeks, sliced, white parts only
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 1/2 cups tomatoes, chopped
- 2 tablespoons tomato paste
- 2 cloves garlic, mashed
- 1 1/4 quarts water
- 6 parsley springs
- 2 bay leaves
- 1/4 teaspoon thyme
- 1 big pinch of saffron
- 1/8 teaspoon black pepper
- 1/2 tablespoon kosher salt
- Either 2-3 pounds fish heads, bones & shellfish remains OR 2 cups of prepared low-sodium fish stock plus the remains of your shellfish from the shrimp.
- 1/2lb cod, cut into 1inch pieces
- 1/4 large shrimp, peeled and deveined
- 1/4 mussels, scrubbed and debearded
- 6 cherrystone or littleneck clams
- 1 lobster tail
- chopped parsley
- chopped fresh tomatoes
- sliced leeks
Instructions
- In a Dutch oven or stock pot over medium heat drizzle your olive oil and sautée the onions and leeks until they are soft, about 5 minutes.
- Stir in the tomato paste, tomatoes and garlic and cook for an additional 6-8 minutes until the tomatoes begin to soften and break down.
- Prepare your bouquet garnet by placing your herbs in a cheesecloth and tying the ends together with butchers twine. Add it to the pot and pour over the water.
- Stir in your fish bones, shells or fish stock ( or the combination) and season with salt and pepper.
- Let cook for 35 to 40 minutes at a simmer, occasionally skimming the top.
- Strain the broth and discard the solids. The broth can be made ahead and reheated when ready to cook or you may proceed as follows:
- Bring the stock to a boil and add the lobster tail and cod, cook for 5 minutes uncovered. Add the shrimp, mussels and clams cooking for an additional five minutes or until your shellfish has opened. You may want to cover the pot at this time, the steam will help cook the clams and mussels. Toss any shells that haven't opened.
- Taste and adjust seasoning as necessary.
- To serve, spoon the seafood in a bowl and ladle the broth over. Top with chopped parsley, tomatoes and leeks. Pair with a loaf of crusty French bread and a chilled bottle of Provençal Rose.
This recipe also happens to be the start of my own personal Julia Child celebration. I plan on honoring her birthday with a #CookforJulia week and a half leading up to her birthday on the 15th! Stay tuned for a new Julia Child recipe every other day!
PBS Food has an amazing celebration lined up from August 5th through the 15th celebrating Julia Child’s legacy. #CookforJulia with them, me or the rest of the #SundaySupper crew through the entire time or after, because there are just too many recipes to tackle in a 10 day period!
Want even more Julia Child recipes starting today? You know you do, because who doesn’t want more Julia in their kitchen? Check out all these amazing adaptions of Julia Child recipes from fellow #SundaySupper bloggers.
This week’s #SundaySupper in honor of Julia Child’s 100th Birthday is being hosted by Samantha from The Little Ferraro Kitchen. I love Samantha’s blog and turn to her often for recipes and inspiration. Just like Julia, Samantha’s love of cooking and passion comes through in her recipes and writings.
Join us this week Around the Family Table for #SundaySupper! That fun starts at 3pm EST with these fabulous recipes being showcased and ends with our #SundaySupper live chat at 7pm EST. This is a #SundaySupper you don’t want to miss!
#CookForJulia Breakfast
Râpée Morvandelle by Cindy’s Recipes and Writings
Croissants by Cookistry
Cheese and Bacon Quiche by Tora’s Real Food
#CookForJulia Lunch
Tuna Salad Nicoise by Magnolia Days
Blood Orange, Walnut, and Rocket Salad by Granny’s Down Home Southern Cooking
Croque Monsieur by Webicurean
Spinach and Cream Cheese Pancakes by Happy Baking Days
Julia’s Chicken Salad by My Trials in the Kitchen
Pissaladière Niçoise (Onion Tart with Anchovies and Black Olives) by The Wimpy Vegetarian
Provencal Tomato Quiche by Are you hungry?
Quiche Lorraine Spoon and Saucer
Potato and Onion Soup (Potage Parmentier) by Shockingly Delicious
#CookForJulia Dinner
Bouillabaisse by The Girl in the Little Red Kitchen
Boeuf Bourguignon by Chelsea’s Culinary Indulgence
Orecchiette Con Broccoli Di Rape and Sausages by Doggie at the Dinner Table
Boeuf Bourguignon by Hezzi D’s Books and Cooks
Veal Stew with Onions and Mushrooms with Baked Cucumbers and Boiled Potatoes (Blanquette de veau a l’ancienne with concombres au buerre) by Kimchi Mom
Salmon en Papillote by Girlichef
Poached salmon with cucumber sauce by Katherine Martinelli
Lobster Souffle and Deviled Chicken- Crispy Bits & Burnt Ends
Roasted Chicken with Julia’s Mustard Marinade by The Meltaways
Wild Mushroom and Herb Stuffed Chicken- Mama Mommy Mom
Puree of White Beans with Garlic and Herbs (Brandade á la Soissonaise) Avocado Pesto
Julia’s Kunming Connection: Chinese Steampot Chicken- by My Kitchen and I
Poulet au Porto by Family Foodie
#CookForJulia Sides
Hollondaise over Blanched Asparagus by The Little Ferraro Kitchen
Scalloped Potatoes with Milk, Cheese, and Garlic (Gratin Dauphinois) by Home Cooking Memories
Ratatouille by Basic N Delicious
French-style country pate by There and Back Again
White Bean Dip with Homemade Tortilla Chips Momma’s Meals
Oeufs à la Diable by What Smells So Good?
Soubise by The Weekend Gourmet
Ratatouille by Cupcakes and Kale Chips
#CookForJulia Desserts
Cream Cheese and Lemon Flan by Juanita’s Cocina
Strawberry Sherbert in Cooky Cups by Cravings of a Lunatic
Creme Brulee by Wine Everyday
Mousseline Au Chocolat by Small Wallet Big Appetite
Peach Tarte Tatin by That Skinny Chick Can Bake
Cinnamon Toast Flan by Vintage Kitchen Notes
Dark Chocolate Crepes by Family Spice
Crepes Fines Sucrees by Mangoes and Chutney
Pommes Rosemarie:Apples Rosie The Daily Dish Recipes
Espresso Soufflé by Chocolate Moosey
Best Ever Brownies by In the Kitchen with Audrey
Orange-Almond Jelly Roll Cake by Mrs. Mama Hen
Orange Spongecake Cupcakes by Mama’s Blissful Bites
Orange Mousse with Greek Yogurt by Sue’s Nutrition Buzz
Frozen Chocolate Mousse by Big Bear’s Wife
Wine Pairings: Relishing Food and Wine; Thanks to Julia Child! by ENOFYLZ
The fun starts every week at 3:00pm ET by showcasing fabulous recipes. At 7:00 pm ET, we will start our live chat. Join us on twitter by using hashtag #Sundaysupper or using Tweetchat. We love to feature your recipes on our #sundaysupper pinterest board and share them with all of our followers. See you there!
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Oh wow this looks tasty! I love seafood and bouillabaisse. This is on my must cook list for sure.
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Ooh Susan, this is one of my favorites! Thanks for featuring it! Cindy
So, ummm, what time is dinner?
Anytime you want Jen!
Impressive recipe you choose and greatly executed! It looks amazing.
A lovely summertime #SundaySupper!
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Oh my gosh – so fun that your mom dressed as Julia for Halloween!! And this dish – GORGEOUS! I have my heart set on making it this week sometime.
Thank you Heather! Yes, I’m hoping I can find the picture of her somewhere and scan it to show off (with her permission of course!) She even won first place in the costume contest!
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This looks so good! Beautiful dish and I love all the seafood!
This dish looks absolutely amazing and I would love to take one of those shrimp right off my screen. Thank you so much for sharing during #SundaySupper. I love your posts and your beautiful blog.
I’ve only had the pleasure of bouillabaisse once, and it looked nowhere near this good!
Amazing! Bouillabaisse is one of my favorite dishes and love it more when it includes lobster.
Amazing display of an amazingly delicious recipe. Definitely a 5 star dish. Love that your mom dressed as Julia, so fun! Reminds me of my own mom.
We love seafood. Pass me a bowl?
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This is such a beautiful and impressive looking dinner! Wow!
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This would be perfect on a cool evening!
this is a truly gorgeous meal! i’ve never done a bouillabaisse, but i’m so inspired now to try!
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My husband loves seafood so this would be a great dish to make for him.
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