Food is an essential part of our lives and the experiences we have with food shape our lives. Today's cookbook spotlight "A Pig in Provence" isn't really a cookbook (although it does have 8 recipes) instead it is a memoir, or perhaps more accurately a collection of stories, of Georgeanne Brennan's life in Provence France. The stories are heartfelt, relating to meals, family, animals, and food; they depict friendships and a passion for food. For a glimpse into this life, we present one of the 8 wonderful recipes found within "A Pig in Provence" Bouillabaise toulonnaise - Toulon Style Boullabaisse.
Bouillabaisse Toulonnaise Bouillabaisse, Toulon Style From "A Pig in Provence", by Georgeanne Brennan, Chronicle Books
Toulon-style bouillabaisse differs from the Marseille style in its inclusion of saffron-infused potatoes, which I happen to love, and sometimes mussels. Otherwise, the two styles are almost identical. A rich fond, or base, made from small fish and fish bones, aromatics, and tomatoes, is sieved, puréed, and brought to a rolling boil to cook various kinds of fish. The dish is served in two courses, the broth first, with garlic-rubbed, dried bread and rouille, a sauce made with garlic and red peppers. Next comes the fish, in chunks and fillets, served Toulon style with the golden potatoes. According to strict tradition, certain Mediterranean fish are required for bouillabaisse, but an excellent meal can be made with Pacific or Atlantic fish or a combination, as long as they are very fresh and not oily. Buy about 4 pounds of small fish such as assorted rockfish and scorpionfish, small eels, fish heads, and backbones. The fish should not be oily types like sardines, salmon, or mackerel. Add a few blue or other small crabs the size of your hand. Also buy five or six chunks of monkfish and one or two other firm, white fish, plus several whole fish such as flounder, red mullet, and sea bass. Finally, buy 2 pounds or so of mussels, if you want to add these as well. Lay the monkfish and whole fish on a platter and drizzle them with extra-virgin olive oil. Sprinkle with coarse sea salt, freshly ground black pepper, and fennel seeds, rubbing the seeds between your fingers to release their essence. If you have some fresh fennel stalks and fronds, add them, too. Sometimes people add a drizzle of pastis as well. To make the fond, cover the bottom of a large, heavy-bottomed pot with a film of extra-virgin olive oil and heat it over medium heat. When it's hot, add a chopped leek or two, using only the white part, along with a chopped onion, a goodly amount of chopped garlic, and several tomatoes. It's best to peel the tomatoes first, so that when the fond is pressed through a sieve, the skins won't block the holes. Cook the vegetables, stirring, until they are very soft, about 10 minutes. Add the eels, heads, and bones, and continue to stir until the meat starts dropping away, another 5 to 10 minutes. Add the small fish and crabs, and continue to stir until they start to dissolve, another 5 to 10 minutes. Now add about 3 quarts water, 2 to 3 cups dry white wine such as Blanc de Cassis, a piece of dried orange peel, and several large pinches of coarse sea salt, some ground pepper, and several sprigs of fresh thyme tied together with several sprigs of fresh parsley and a bay leaf. Also add a stalk of fresh fennel, cut into short lengths. If you don't have a fennel stalk, coarsely chop a fennel bulb and add a dash of pastis to the soup. Increase the heat to high and bring to a boil, then reduce to low and let the fond simmer until the meat has fallen away from the bones, about 15 minutes. While the fond is cooking, make the rouille by crushing a dried cayenne chile, seeds removed and discarded, in a mortar with a pestle. Add three or four cloves of garlic and a pinch of coarse sea salt and grind to a paste. Dissolve a pinch of saffron threads in a teaspoon of hot water, add to the mortar, and blend again into a paste. If your mortar is large enough, continue making the rouille in it, using the pestle. If not, scrape the mixture into a bowl. Whisk in an egg yolk until it is fully blended. Drop by drop, add extra-virgin olive oil, whisking continuously. As the mixture thickens, the oil can be added in a slow, steady stream. Continue to whisk until the mixture is thickened and stiff, like mayonnaise. Set aside. Put slices of baguette on baking sheets and bake in a 300 degree F oven until they are dried but not browned, about 20 minutes. Remove them and rub both sides with garlic cloves. When the fond is ready, remove it in batches to a fine-mesh sieve placed over a large bowl. Remove the stalks of fennel and the packet of herbs and discard them. Crush the contents, using a wooden spoon to extract all the juices, crushing until only the fish and vegetable debris remains. A food mill is excellent for this process if you have one. Discard the debris and repeat until all the fond has been crushed. Wash the sieve thoroughly. To be sure to catch any small bones, strain the fond again, this time into a clean soup pot. The fond can be prepared up to 12 hours in advance. When you are ready to cook the fish, heat the fond to boiling and add two or three pinches of saffron dissolved in a little boiling water. Add five or six potatoes that have been peeled and quartered. Cook them for 5 minutes, then add the chunks of firm fish, any large whole fish, the mussels, and finally any fillets. Boil steadily, uncovered, for 10 to 15 minutes. The fish will become raggedy. The key to doneess is the tenderness of the potatoes. When they can be pierced easily with the tines of fork, remove the pot from the heat and gently lift out first the fillets, then the whole fish, chunks, and potatoes, placing them on a platter. Cover the platter loosely with foil. Add a spoonful or two of the broth to the rouille to smooth it out. To serve, bring the garlic-rubbed bread and rouille to the table, instructing your guests to put a piece of bread in their soup bowls and top it will a dollop of rouille. Bring the fond to the table and ladle some into each bowl. After everyone has enjoyed the first course, bring out the platter of fish and potatoes. You can fillet the whole fish at the table or in the kitchen before serving it. Give everyone a piece or two of potato and a bit of each kind of fish, placing them in the bowls. Drizzle each serving with a bit of fond and pass the rouille.
Serves 6 to 10
About "A Pig in Provence: Good Food and Simple Pleasures in the South of France"  From the author of Potager: Fresh Garden Cooking in the French Style comes another extraordinary memoir of a woman embarking on a new life--this time in the South of France. Thirty years ago, James Beard Award-winning author Georgeanne Brennan set out to realize the dream of a peaceful, rural existence en Provence. She and her husband, with their young daughter in tow, bought a small farmhouse with a little land, and a few goats and pigs--and so began a life-affirming journey. Filled with delicious recipes and local color, this evocative and passionate memoir, "A Pig in Provence ", describes her life cooking and living in the Provencal tradition--an entrancing tale that will whet the appetite and the spirit--perfect for foodies, Francophiles, or anyone who's dreamed of packing their bags and buying a ticket to the good life.
Get A Pig in Provence: Good Food and Simple Pleasures in the South of France at:
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