Julia Child's Ultimate Tip For Simplifying Bouillabaisse

Bouillabaisse — the iconic fish soup of Marseille, France — began as a simple fisherman's stew of fish scraps and unsold fish and morphed into a pricey high-end restaurant meal. In Season 1 of "The French Chef" and again in Season 6, Julia Child prepared an authentic bouillabaisse with a melange of readily available fresh fish. According to Child, the gourmets fancified the recipe by tossing in high-priced fish and shellfish and putting off "us ordinary people" with bouillabaisse's expense and purportedly difficult execution. Child dismissed the foodie snobs by showing that a perfectly delicious bouillabaisse could be made with less expensive fish, like cod or hake. Any lean, impeccably fresh, and affordable fish will give restaurant-quality results at a fraction of the cost.

The most time-consuming step in any recipe for bouillabaisse is making the fish soup, which in Child's recipe, takes between 30 to 40 minutes. The stock for the soup, served in Marseille traditionally as a first course with saffron-rich rouille, is usually made with fish frames and fish heads. But, as Child acknowledged, getting 4 to 5 pounds of fish trimmings can be a challenge, and she offers a second helpful tip for making a budget-wise and speedy bouillabaisse. You can cut down substantial time on the recipe by making the stock with inexpensive bottled or canned clam juice. 

Marseille is very protective of its signature dish, and in 1980, its restaurants formed a charter that defined the types of fish that comprise a true bouillabaisse. Marseille lists the approved list of local fish on its website, like scorpion fish, monkfish, conger eel, and John Dory, which are firm- to medium-firm-fleshed fish. But not many of Marseille's required fishes are available in the U.S., so most recipes for bouillabaisse, including Child's, make substitutions.

Child recommended cod, hake, halibut, or pollack for the firm-fleshed fish, but she added gelatinous fish, such as halibut and flounder, which break apart when boiled and give body and richness to the soup. Child emphasized that the fish you select should be lean, not oily, like salmon, tuna, or mackerel, and absolutely fresh, which you can tell by sniffing it to make sure the fish has a fresh, sweet smell. Mussels are often added to bouillabaisse, but you can also drop in clams, shrimp, and if you're feeling ritzy, lobster. 

Other fish you might consider for your bouillabaisse are mahi-mahi, which is also delicious pan-seared, versatile tilapia, and cod's "cousin" haddock, often the fish of choice for classic fish and chips. If you've just caught perch or sunfish, drop them whole — scaled and gilled — into the pot too. Any combination of affordable fish will give you a tasty bouillabaisse you'll want to make again and again.