Tiome for a good soup. Will be a bit rainy and coold this evening. This will serve about 8 hungry folks.

INGREDIENTS:
• 3/4 cup Extra Virgin olive oil
• 2 large white onions, thinly sliced
• 2 leeks, sliced
• 3 tomatoes - peeled, seeded and chopped in 1” pieces
• 4 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 sprig fennel leaf FRESH
• 1 sprig fresh thyme FRESH
• 1 bay leaf FRESH
• 1 teaspoon orange zest FRESH
• 3/4 pound mussels, cleaned and debearded
• 9 cups of fish stock
• salt and pepper to taste. For a bit of excitement, add a small dash of Cayenne
• 5 pounds sea bass or other hard white fish. Pieces about 3” square
• 1 pinch saffron threads
• 3/4 pound fresh shrimp, peeled and deveined
• ¾ pound lobster in shell, but cracked

DIRECTIONS:
1. Heat the olive oil in a large saucepan, and add the onions, leeks, chopped tomatoes, and garlic. Cook and stir over a low heat for a few minutes until all vegetables are soft.
2. Stir in the fennel, thyme, bay leaf, and orange zest. Add shellfish and boiling water; stir to combine. Season to taste with salt and black pepper. Turn up the heat to high, and boil to allow the oil and water to combine.
3. Add fish, and reduce the heat to medium.
4. Continue cooking for 12 to 15 minutes, or until fish is cooked. The fish should be opaque and tender, but still firm. Fish should not be falling apart.
5. Taste the bouillabaisse and adjust the seasoning.
6. Stir in saffron, and then pour soup into a warmed tureen or soup dishes. Serve immediately.

A good French basic table wine is sufficient
Serve with chucks of hard white bread with a good crust

My wife loves bouillabaise, but I've yet to make it in the classical style. I have improvised in the wilds of Nunavut, using walleye, lake trout, and pike.

Nice thing about this recipe is it can be done [including all the prep work] in less than an hour.

Supposed to be cool [low in the 40's], and need a bit of pick-me-up.

What wine do you imbibe when in the wilds?

Well, we're limited in the weight of our baggage. I usually exceed that and so far the outfitter hasn't charged me anything extra, but I try not to take advantage of his largess. I usually only bring two bottles for the week and since all but one of my fishing mates are non-winos, I ususally bring a couple of bottles of some good $25 Chardonnay. The outfitter provides our food and feeds us very well, so we only eat fish a couple of times during the week we're on the lake.

Edward,

This sounds great....but how much water do you use? I only see fish stock in the recipe.

I may make this tomorrow for football watching.

Thanks.

No water.

Stock only. We like the rich taste.