Bouride à la Provençal – One-Pot Gourmet Fare

It has long been the goal of the Galley Guys to eat well and drink elegantly while onboard. Our recipe this issue is “Bouride à la Provençal” prepared for us with style by Dwayne Kearney, Sous Chef at the Port Credit Yacht Club.

Bouride à la Provençal is a Provençal fish stew consisting of, grouper, salmon, shrimps, scallops and mussels cooked in a fennel and saffron broth, garnished by a roasted red pepper aioli, spread on a crostini. It is both hearty and filled with interesting and distinct flavours that all come together beautifully in a single bowl.

We turned to Joseph Akl for a wine recommendation and he suggested that to be fancy and to enjoy this Provençal fish stew, a Brut Sparkling wine would work well. The new wine list at Port Credit Yacht Club includes Telepas – Amalia Brut, a champagne method sparkling white wine from Greece. As Joseph Akl pointed out, this brut style wine offers high acidity with aggressive bubbles and flavours of apple, wildflower honey and snap peas. The flavours seemed to balance beautifully with the flavours in this dish. (An option could be an oaked chardonnay might also be good with this tomato-based recipe.)

The Galley Guys also understand that not everyone has a spacious and fully equipped galley like the Cruisers aft cabin motor yacht that we had at our disposal, so we selected the Bouride à la Provençal because it can be largely prepared ahead. With a bit of pre-planning, this dish can quickly become a one-pot meal.

For the space-challenged galley (about 99% of all pleasure yachts), we learned how to conserve space by using the Magma Stainless Steel Nesting Cookware set. This is produced by the same people who make the Magma BBQs; it is an 18-10 stainless steel cookware set that nests together for storage, needing less than 1/2 cubic foot of cabinet space.

We chose the version with the DuPont Teflon Select Non-Stick coating; the main benefit onboard is the simple clean-up. The set includes three sauce pans, a lid that fits all three, a 5 qt. stock pot, a 9-1/2 inch diameter sauté pan, a lid that fits the stock pot and the sauté pan, 2 removable handles and finally, a convenient “Bungee” storage cord to keep it all together.

Sous Chef Dwayne Kearney, who is accustomed to professional restaurant quality equipment, commented that the Magma Nesting Cookware had heavy bottoms and a feeling of high quality. When we were finished making the Bouride à la Provençal, the pots just rinsed out and wiped clean; exactly what you want on the boat.

While he was chopping the vegetables, Chef Kearney explained that what makes this recipe so flavourful and interesting – as well as fast to prepare – is that it relies on a large quantity of fish stock as the base.

Homemade stock is something of a lost art in today’s fast-paced world but it is the stock that sets this meal apart. Once the stock is made, all the ingredients go into one big pot; quite suitable for a very small galley, especially one with just a single-burner stove.

The fish stock, (or shrimp stock that we used this time) will keep 3 or 4 days refrigerated and up to 3 months frozen.

He starts with the shells from shrimp used for another recipe. To this he adds a quantity of water and cooks down a selection of vegetables; onion, celery, fennel, coriander seed, bay leaf, parsnip, tomato paste and some tomato puree. As they say in France, the stock is the “fond” or the base for future meals.

With the shrimp stock standing by, Chef Kearney started by sautéing a selection of vegetables including fennel – an ingredient that apparently goes well fish.

Once those vegetables reached translucency, he added the shrimp stock and simmered for 20 minutes while he prepared the fish (and shell fish) we had chosen. You can use many different varieties of firm-fleshed fish. Just start with the most firm meat and work your way through so as not to break up the more delicate varieties.

In addition to being a potentially one-pot meal of gourmet quality, you can serve this dish in a bowl, saving further on dishwashing later.

If you are out onboard your boat in the Great Lakes, Pacific or Atlantic coast or even in Georgian Bay, this recipe will quickly remind you that you should have brought your own fishing rod!

In fact, you could use lobster for an even more rich and flavourful variation. The fish stock can keep nicely in your freezer and a bottle of bubbly and some entertaining conversation will make the evening complete. We hope you will try this recipe yourself and by all means – let us know what you think!

Bouride à la Provençal with Aioli
2 Litres Fish (or Shrimp) Stock
1 Fennel
1 Celery
1 Red Pepper
1 Cooking Onion
1 Tbsp. Garlic Chopped
A Pinch of Saffron
1 Tomato
15 Mussels
3 Fillets Grouper
3 Fillets Salmon
12 Scallops
12 Shrimp
Crostini
Roasted Red Pepper Aioli (see recipe below)
Optional – Finely chop jalapeno peppers and add to the ingredients during the simmering for noticeable “heat” if desired.

Julienne fennel, red pepper, onion, thinly slice celery and sweat until translucent. Add the stock and simmer for 30 minutes.

Add the shellfish and fish accordingly (mussels will take longer than salmon).

Season to taste. The Bouride à la Provençal should have the consistency of a light soup just like a bouillabaisse only lighter.

Roasted Red Pepper Aioli
1 Roasted Red Pepper
1 Cup Mayonnaise
Salt and Pepper
A Pinch of Chili Flakes

Puree thoroughly in blender. Serve on toasted crostini as a garnish.

By Galley Guys Greg Nicoll, Andy Adams and John Armstrong