Bouillabaisse
Sanary
A small fishing village where Aldous Huxley wrote 'Brave New World'. Sanary is a traditional village with colourful streets leading down to the fishing boats teaming with unusual creatures in every shape and form!
The Bouillabaisse Festival
According to folklore the fish John Dory (which is also know in Provence as St Pierre) was touched by St Peter himself and left his thumb impression on its side. Every two years in Sanary the locals celebrate this fish and create an enormous bouillabaisse. There is enough bouillabaisse to feed 1,500 people and it is cooked in an enormous cauldron nine feet and a half in diameter and weights 1,300 pounds. It is lifted by a crane and put on a fire made of 140 cubic feet of wood in the car park at Sanary.
In the bouillabaisse you will find:
- 2,200 pounds of fish - John Dory, Eel, 'racasse' etc
- 15 quarts Olive Oil
- 1½ saffron
- 650 pounds of potatoes
- 35 ponds of garlic
- 65 gallon of fish stock
- 5 'bouquet garnis' the size of small branches!
- 10 pounds of salt
Not counting the vast amount of tomatoes, peppers and onions used in the cooking. The water in the bouillabaisse is added using a hose!
Bouillabaisse
Here are some rules you should adhere to before even attempting to make a bouillabaisse!
- You must have fresh fish
- The variety and number of fish will most definitely add to the taste and texture of the stock
- Use pure saffron
- The fish should be prepared in front of your guests rather than bought from the kitchen already prepared.
Some facts:
Lobster was not in the original recipe - it was a simple recipe using fish that were damaged or not sold in the market. The original 'bouillabaisse de pêcheur' was prepared with seawater and was boiled on the beach whilst the fishermen repaired their nets.