Bourride

Name: Bourride
Yield: 8 servings
Ingredients: 2 tablespoons olive oil; 2 cups white wine; 8 to 10 cups fish broth or water; Sea salt and pepper to taste; Peel of 1 orange; Pinch of saffron; 1 large onion, peeled and diced; 3 cloves garlic, minced; 1 leek, cleaned and chopped; 1 fennel bulb, diced; 1 teaspoon anise seeds; 4 tomatoes, peeled and diced, or one 15-ounce can tomatoes; 2 carrots, peeled and diced; A few branches fresh thyme; 1 sprig fresh parsley, plus 1 cup diced parsley; 2 pounds potatoes, peeled and cut into 1-inch chunks; 4 pounds mixed fish fillets, such as mahimahi, bluefish, striped bass, sea bream, or codfish, cut in big chunks; 1 baguette; Rouille (see page 63)

December 9, 2011

Chez Paul, located near the port of Marseille, stands at a crossroads with three other fish restaurants. But the license from the Beth Din of Marseille, hanging on the wall, certifying that the restaurant is kosher, sets this one apart. When I visited Chez Paul, Fathi Hmam, the Tunisian Muslim chef, was busy prepping bouillabaisse for the evening’s dinner. Technically, his bouillabaisse stew is a bourride, because it only has fish with fins and scales—those that swim near the magnificent rocky shore of this ancient port city of France. But he does not use lotte (monkfish), also a nonkosher fish, central to fish bourrides in Marseille. Bourride is one of the oldest dishes in France, said to have been brought by the Phoenicians in the sixth century B.C.E. Of course, the tomatoes and potatoes arrived much later. It is also said that a few Jews came with the Phoenicians on this voyage. Is that why, perhaps, there is no shellfish in the bourride? The success of this simple dish depends on knowing at what moment the fish is perfectly cooked. And, of course, don’t forget the rouille (see page 63), which North African Jews and Muslims alike make their own by adding a Tunisian touch: harissa.

Recipe notes