Provencal Inspired Recipes from Karin

I am absolutely thrilled to be sharing this recipe from my friend Karin who has so graciously made this special recipe for our class. She is an incredible chef and person. You can follow her amazing recipes on Instagram @karinellis9 Please see her instructions and a little history behind the recipe below. Enjoy!

Bouillabaisse. Bouillabaisse originated in Marseille. It’s an ancient port city on the Mediterranean. Some of the differences of this stew are saffron, fennel seeds, potatoes, celery and everything is cooked individually which is how I tend to cook a fish stew. It’s building the flavors. This stew was originally a way for fisherman to use the left over bones, fish etc. at the ports. Many types of fish, shellfish can go into it. Typically the fisherman did not add lobster but it’s definitely more common now, and I couldn’t resist lobster and the pop of color. The fennel, fennel fronds and saffron are what highlights the flavor of the various mussels, clams, cod, shrimp and lobster in combination with white wine, onions, potatoes, celery, garlic, stewed tomatoes. I haven’t been to Provence in maybe, ten years, but Vence, is one of my favorite towns in the French Riviera . It doesn’t sit on the Mediterranean like Nice or Cannes, instead it’s about a 1/2 hour from Nice. It’s home to the Matisse Chapel where Henri Matisse did the most exquisite stained glass. The light, the vivid colors are still clear in my mind after all of these years. Thank you, dear Kristy for this opportunity, I feel like I got to relive some of my favorite memories in my own travels in making this stew. The addition of @laboiteny Pierre Poivre definitely brightened the subtle fennel flavors in a spicy way.