• 1 cup white wine
  • 1/2 tsp saffron
  • juice and zest of half an orange
  • 4 cups fish stock
  • 1 onion minced
  • 1 small fennel bulb minced
  • 3 cloves garlic minced
  • 1 leek minced
  • 2 tbl of basil and parsley
  • 1 15oz canned whole or diced tomatoes
  • 1 bay leaf
  • 1 diced dry chili such as chile de arbol
  • 12 oz of shrimp (it's about 20-25 small shrimp)
  • 1/2 lemon, juiced
  • 24 oz of a fish fillets in total, 12 of one and 12 of another
i found this great book while i was away on vacation, art of the slow cooker by andrew schloss. yes, i am addicted to my crock pot, can you tell? i am just really having fun (mixed with fear) exploring new recipes and cooking things in a new way.
this book is really a good read, especially if you love cooking and love your crock pot. my biggest issue is i hate following recipes. why do i even pick up recipe books? because i love the ideas they give me. i love to look at pictures of food and i love to read about food. what goes into a meal and how each flavor plays off another.
so i blogged yesterday about my first fish stock, great starter might i add, and then we made bouillabaisse. in all honesty the thought of making bouillabaisse scared the living daylights out of me originally. i need to know what exactly things will taste like and i need to taste them now, probably the worst part about cooking in a crock pot for me. this was actually one of the easiest recipes and the least scary dish i ever cooked. i hope you enjoy the recipe and make it one day.
{crock pot} bouillabaisse
just a little note: i chose just to use shrimp and cod. you can use any white fish or even salmon. clams and mussels would also be a great addition.  because it was only e and i eating this, i only used 10 shrimp and one smallish piece of cod, i froze the rest of the broth for a quick dinner (i can just throw more fish in). also, stock related, a good subsitute for  fish stock is equal parts veg broth to clam juice (which you can find at your local grocery).
  1. take out two bowls, one microwavable.
  2. in the first bowl, crumble the saffron into the white wine then stir in orange juice, set aside.
  3. in the second, add 4 cups of stock, microwave to heat up (you can also  heat up in a  pot). add the stock to the crock pot with the orange zest, bay leaf and chile.
  4. in a large skillet with a tbl spoon or more of olive oil, add your onion, fennel, garlic, and leek. cook for about 5 minutes till translucent. add basil and parsley cook for a minute till just wilted, add tomatoes and wine mixture. bring to a boil and transfer to the crock pot.
  5. cook 4-6 hours on low.
  6. about 30 minutes before serving, turn your temp up to high. add your fish to a big mixing bowl and sprinkle with half a lemon, mix around and add to crock pot. do not mix, lay out on top. cover and walk away. in about 30 minutes all the fish will be cooked.
  7. i ladled out the fish into a bowl and then covered with a touch of broth. since i made half the amount of fish, i spooned all the broth into some tupperware and added it to my collection of freezer leftovers to be eaten soon:-) serve with bread, or even pasta (i had both).