Last Night's Dinner: Chicken Bouillabaisse

I adapted this from the latest Ina Garten book - Back to Basics.  This was really delicious. The French make it with a really licorice-y flavored ingredients such as fennel seeds and Pernod liqueur. We don't  like these flavors at all so we omitted them and went with more garlic. The sauce was OOTW great.  We all loved it. It is mainly tomatoes and garlic.

This was excellent.

                     *  Exported from  MasterCook  *

                          Chicken Bouillabaisse

Recipe By     : adapted from Barefoot Contessa Back to Basics, p. 111-12
Serving Size  : 4    Preparation Time :0:00
Categories    : Main Dishes                      Poultry

  Amount  Measure       Ingredient -- Preparation Method
--------  ------------  --------------------------------
   2      pkg           boneless skinless chicken thighs -- 5 pc each
                        kosher salt and black pepper
   1      tb            fresh rosemary -- minced
                        olive oil
   1      lg head       garlic -- separated into clove
   1      ts            saffron threads
   1      ts            Old Bay Garlic & Herb -- * see note
   1      15 oz can     tomato puree
   1 1/2  cups          chicken broth
   1      cup           dry white wine
   1      lb            Yukon Gold potatoes -- halved
                        Rouille -- ** see note
                        crusty french bread -- for serving

Pat the chicken pieces dry with paper towels and season well with salt, pepper and rosemary. Heat 2 tbsp oil over MED heat in a large Dutch oven and brown the meat well in batches until nicely browned all over, about 5-7 minutes per batch. Transfer to a plate and set aside.

Lower the heat to MED-LOW and add the garlic, saffron, Garlic & Herb Old Bay Seasoning, tomato puree, chicken broth, white wine, 2 tsp salt and 1 tsp pepper to the pot. Stir and scrape up any browned bits on the bottom of the pot. Simmer for 30-40 minutes until the garlic is very tender, stirring occasionally.

Meanwhile, preheat oven to 300 degrees F.

Carefully pour the sauce into the bowl of a food processor (I used an immersion blender instead) fitted with steel blade. Puree until smooth. Return sauce to dutch oven and add potatoes and browned chicken with their juices. Stir carefully.

Cover the pot and bake for 45 minutes until the potatoes are tender and the chicken is done. Check the seasonings and serve hot in shallow bowls with big dollops of rouille and slices of bread.

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NOTES : Risa's notes:

* Rouille is a garlic mayo made from 4 lg cloves of garlic, 1.5 tsp salt, 1 extra-large egg, 1.5 tbsp lemon juice, 1/2 tsp saffron threads, 1/4 tsp crushed red pepper flakes and 1 cup of good olive oil. You place the garlic and salt on a cutting board and mince together. Transfer to a food processor and add the egg yolk, lemon juice, saffron, and red pepper flakes. Process until smooth.

With machine running , pour the olive oil in a thin stead stream until you make a thick emulsion. Transfer to a serving bowl and store in refrigerator until ready to serve.

** Old Bay seasoning now comes in other flavors. If you can't find this new Garlic & Herb seasoning, use another or the original recipe calls for 1 tsp fennel seeds and 3 tbsp Pernod liqueur in with the broth. This would make it very licorice-y in flavor, which we don't like. I made it more of a garlic-y flavor which we all loved.