Chesapeake Bouillabaisse

Blue Crab Bay Recipe : Chesapeake Bouillabaisse

Ingredients

• 6 leeks
• 6 shallots
• 7 cloves garlic
• 3 large onions
• olive oil
• 6 fresh tomatoes, chopped
• 1/2 demitasse spoon of saffron (crushed)
• 2 tbsp. chopped parsley
• 2 bay leaves
• 2 tbsp. thyme
• 10 oz can tomato puree
• 1/2 cup orange juice
• Juice of 1 lemon
• 1 Tbsp. Tabasco sauce
• 1 quart white wine
• 1 bottle clam juice
• 2 cups Sting Ray® Bloody Mary Mixer
• 2 lbs. peeled shrimp with tails on
• 1 fish (flounder, trout, or croaker), cut into chunks
• 2 dozen little neck clams
• 4 ears fresh corn on the cob, cut into sections
• 4 cooked lobsters (claws taken off, tail cut in thirds)

Instructions

Chop leeks (discarding most of the green part), shallots, garlic, and onions and sauté in a little olive oil for 5 minutes. Place sautéed vegetables in a very large pot and add all other ingredients except clams. Bring to a boil, lower heat and cook over medium heat for 20 minutes uncovered, stirring occasionally. Add scrubbed clams; cover and simmer until clams open, about 5 to 10 minutes. Remove bay leaves before serving. Better if made the day before and refrigerated. When reheating, don't let it boil. Serve in large flat soup plates with a freshly boiled potato and lots of crusty French bread. Serves 8 to 10.

Recipe prepared by Chef Gary Sokaitis of The Inn & Garden Cafe in Onancock, VA