ROSA JACKSON’S BOURRIDE

Makes 4 servings

Even before Rosa Jackson was my friend, she was an authority I turned to

when I wanted to know more about the foods of Paris and Nice, the foodlover’s

Eden on the French Riviera. Rosa arrived in France from Canada in

1995 and did what so many people dreamed of doing: stayed! She is well

known for her tours of the Nice market and recently opened a cooking

school, Les Petits Farcis, in a sun-filled studio in the Old City, so that you

can shop at the market with her and head right to the kitchen. Which is what

I did and how I learned to make this bourride Sétois, a fisherman’s stew from

the seaside town of Sète.

The word bourride tells you that it’s a fish stew with aioli (garlic

mayonnaise), sometimes referred to as the butter of Provence. In the

traditional version, the fish is poached in broth; Rosa braises it with

vegetables, making a stew — well, not really a stew, since it’s not at all soupy

— that’s more colorful, more flavorful and surprisingly quick (as in

weekday-quick) to pull together. At Rosa’s, we had the bourride with

steamed baby potatoes, and that’s how I do it at home too.

a word on the bread and potato

The aioli is thickened with a base of bread or cooked potatoes. If you want to

use potato, cut up a baby spud and boil it for 10 minutes or so, then drain and

mash it. If you prefer to use bread, soak a slice of sandwich or country bread

in a small amount of milk only until it’s thoroughly moistened, then remove

it from the soaking bowl and squeeze out the excess liquid.

For the aioli

1 garlic clove, preferably young, germ removed (see sidebar)

Coarse sea or kosher salt

2 large egg yolks, preferably organic (the yolks are barely cooked), at room

temperature

1 slice (¾ ounce; 22 grams) stale bread, soaked in milk, or 1 small (1 to 1½ ounces; 28

to 43 grams) boiled potato (see headnote)

½ cup (120 ml) mild-tasting olive oil

½ lemon

Freshly ground pepper

For the bourride

1 medium carrot, peeled and trimmed

10 celery leaves (optional)

4 Swiss chard, spinach or Tuscan kale leaves, center ribs removed

2 young leeks, white and light green parts only, rinsed and patted dry

2 tablespoons olive oil

Fine sea salt

4 cod, halibut or skinned monkfish fillets, 5 ounces (142 grams) each

Freshly ground pepper

About ½ cup (120 ml) water or vegetable or fish broth

Celery leaves or fennel or dill fronds, for serving (optional)

WOR K I NG A H E A D

You can make the aioli up to 1 day ahead and keep it tightly covered in the refrigerator.

TO M A K E T H E A I O L I : The aioli can be made using a mortar and pestle or a

handheld (immersion) blender. To use a mortar and pestle, crush the garlic

with a pinch of coarse salt. Add the yolks. Squeeze out the milk from the

bread, if you’re using it, then add it or the potato to the mortar and crush to

mix coarsely. Drop by drop, add the olive oil — here Rosa cautions to always

turn the pestle in the same direction. The mixture will thicken into a

mayonnaise. (To use a handheld blender, first crush the garlic to a puree on

a cutting board with the pinch of salt or push it through a garlic press; put it

in a medium bowl. Mash in the yolks and the bread or potato, then blend in

the oil by droplets. No matter which tool you used, squeeze in some lemon

juice, then taste to see if you’d like more juice and/or salt. Season with

pepper. (You can make the aioli up to 1 day ahead and hold it in the

refrigerator. Bring it to room temperature before using.)

TO M A K E T H E B O U R R I D E : Cut the carrot into small pieces — think cubettes.

Slice the celery leaves, if using, and the chard, spinach or kale into thin

shreds. Cut each leek lengthwise into quarters and thinly slice.

Heat the oil in a large saucepan or Dutch oven over medium-low heat. Add

all the vegetables and a good pinch of salt and cook, stirring, until they

soften but don’t color, about 5 minutes. Season the fish with salt and pepper

and add it to the pan. Cover and cook over low heat for 4 to 6 minutes on

each side (cod and halibut cook faster than monkfish). Test it early by

piercing it at the center with a small knife — cod or halibut will flake and be

opaque; monkfish will cut easily and be opaque. (The cooked fish should

measure about 145 degrees F on an instant-read thermometer, though you

can go a little lower, because the fish will rest a bit and the residual heat will

cook it a tad more.) Transfer the fish to a plate; cover loosely and put in a

warm place.

Stir the aioli into the vegetables and cooking juices. Add as much water or

broth as needed to create a sauce that just coats a spoon; better to err on the

side of a little thick than a little too thin. Taste for salt and pepper.

Serve the fish and vegetables in shallow soup plates with a sprinkling of

celery leaves or fennel or dill fronds, if you’d like.

S TO R I N G : The bourride is a make-and-enjoy dish.

C H O I C E S : The aioli is stellar as a go-along with crudités, steamed

vegetables, hot or cold hard-boiled eggs or potatoes and as a spread for

sandwiches.