A kind of bourride

Another recipe from the dim and distant French holiday earlier in the year...

The classic bourride is a delicious fish soup-come-stew from the South of France; pungent with garlic it is thickened with aioli rather than cream and for my money is preferable to that other classic fish stew, bouillabaisse.  While I've made 'proper' bourride before, if you're stuck in a caravan in France, it can be a bit of a faff.  So rather than making the whole aioli and fish stock thing, I went for more of a fish in a garlic cream sauce.  In fact, it's a cheek to call it a bourride at all, but hey, I don't care. 

A dish like this can be made with any firm white fish - monkfish works very well, but I've done this in the past with cod and I think hake or haddock would work well too.  Here, I've done it with pollack - this is possibly the lowliest of the cod family - it's texture really does improve with a little light salting.  Sometimes large prawns are added, or even lobster if you're feeling flush.  I used langoustine here (almost as expensive as lobster, I grant you) which went very well with the garlic sauce. 

A kind of bourride
(serves 2)

2 steaks of pollack or other suitable firm white, meaty fish
Sea salt
6 langoustines or large prawns

2 shallots, very finely diced
3-4 plump cloves of garlic, peeled and ground to a paste with the back of a knife and a little salt
1 glass dry white wine
1 glass of fish stock (though I used water which was OK too)
2 ounces butter
1 tablespoon creme fraiche
Juice of half a lemon
A few new potatoes, boiled until tender

Sprinkle the fish generously with salt on both sides. Set aside for an hour.  Wash the salt off and dry the fish on kitchen paper.

Soften the shallot gently in a little butter over a low heat.  Add the garlic, the wine and the stock or water.  Allow to reduce by about 3/4. Whisk in the butter and the creme fraiche - return to a simmer and allow to thicken slightly.  Season with salt and pepper to taste.

Meanwhile, fry the fish in a little olive oil until just cooked through.  Put the potatoes into the pan with the fish.  Add the lemon juice.  Pour the sauce over the fish and potatoes and return to the gentlest of simmers.

Drop the langoustines into a pan of rapidly boiling, salted water.  Return to the boil for just one minute.  Serve - with a few green beans.

tags: fish  fish soup  france  

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