This recipe comes with a story. The story line was thought up by the James Beard Foundation and the result was first place victory for Julienne and a $10,000 check for the Santa Barbara Food Bank.
Back in November of 2013 Julienne represented Santa Barbara in a national competition sponsored by the James Beard Foundation. The Local Dish Challenge as it was called, asked restaurants to come up with a dish that represented their town the best. Then, it asked diners of that town to visit participating restaurants and instagram that meal with a hashtag that was tied to city, #santabarbara. The city with the most hashtags wins. We chose Bouillabaisse because of Santa Barbara's proximity to the ocean and Mediterranean vibe.
But here's the thing; Julienne was the only restaurant in Santa Barbara that participated. Chicago, for instance, had over 40 restaurants participating. San Francisco over 50!
This was truly a David vs Goliath story and it was so awesome that we got the win and brought home a $10,000.00 Donation from the James Beard Foundation to our Local Santa Barbara Food Bank, an organization that I have always supported for the great work that they do.
But this win wasn't just ours alone. We hardly ate any of that Bouillabaisse! That was all YOU!! Santa Barbara rallied as a community and our diners brought home the win for the Food Bank. So that made it even more special.
With that being said I am really excited to share this recipe with you. I am going to be presenting my recipes a little differently and I hope it makes it easier for you to print and use them. So I am going present a preview in the post and then at the end of the post I will provide a PDF like I you saw if you read my last post.
This recipe is broken down into three parts. What I am calling the "Fish Stew Base", " Per Portion" and then the "what the hell is Rouille?" sections.
You will need to have the base for the fish stew and the rouille on hand before you can make a portion. That's pretty obvious if you read it, but it still needs to be said.
The quality of the fish stew base really depends on the quality of the vegetables and tomatoes. Canned tomatoes are fine as long as it's a quality canned tomato, of which there are plenty. Saffron is also a really important part of this recipe. You can skip it if you like, but the flavor and color won't be the same and there really isn't a substitute for saffron.
Let's talk about how else I can help with the fish part of this recipe.
The following items are usually only sold separately but THIS WEEK ONLY in conjunction with this recipe drop I am going to offer 1/2 & 1/2 boxes of Scallops and Shrimp when you purchase a box of fish.
Jumbo Shrimp (16/20) - IQF (individually quick frozen), peeled and double de-veined
and
Jumbo Scallops (U15) - IQF -
I carry the following fin fish for you to choose from, all of which would be great in Bouillabaisse, depending on your taste.
Norwegian Salmon
Chilean Sea Bass
Yellowfin Tuna
Alaskan Halibut
Swordfish
Mahi Mahi
This will also instantly give you a 3 seafood selection to choose from for your other culinary creations later on. Each portion of the fish listed above is packaged individually and F.A.S. (frozen at sea) so you are getting the first thaw on them which makes for insane quality.
If you are interested in this promotion, call me right now and book an appointment for your fish, I am coming back from LA fully stocked this afternoon. Then, on Friday I will re-deliver your Scallop and Shrimp Combo Box.
I have two of those combo boxes available today for the first two takers on this promo.
Thanks for reading and I hope to provide you with quality provisions soon!!
Justin West
805-722-8527
This looks delicious!! How do you usually cook the seafood to add into the stew?