BOUILLABAISSE, CIOPPINO or ZUPPA DA PESCA, and PAELLA

 These are traditional French, Italian and Spanish versions of the same dish: a fish soup-stew, which is served as a main dish accompanied by a green salad and plenty of crisp French or Italian-style bread.

Paella dates from the 14th Century, is supposed to have been created by a Spanish king who would obviously have been happier as a chef (just as Louis XVI of France ought to have been a carpenter). The name is a corruption of "Para Ella," because it was dedicated to the king's mistress-of-the moment.

Paella combines chicken and sweet sausage with shellfish and rice. It will take every blessed minute of your quick-cookery allotment, plus plenty of preparation in ad­vance—and perhaps it should not be included here, but it definitely belongs with Bouillabaisse and Cioppino.

Bouillabaisse depends primarily upon several kinds of fish, both firm and soft-fleshed, with a modest addition of lobster and clams. Literal translation of Bouillabaisse is "boil-stop" —and the secret of the dish lies in fierce boiling, exactly as directed. Another secret is the combination of fish; an au­thentic Bouillabaisse de Marseilles (where the dish was origi­nated) uses at least seven different kinds of fish, and many of them are varieties unobtainable in our country. In making a bouillabaisse, however, remember that the flavors of sev­eral different kinds of fish must predominate; the shellfish are added merely as window-dressing.

Cioppino, or Zuppa da Pesca, is exactly opposite from Bouillabaisse. Here, you wish the flavors of shellfish to pre­dominate, and the bits of softer fish are the window-dressing. The cooking method of Cioppino is slightly more leisurely than for Bouillabaisse, but a final period of fierce boiling will make the smooth mixture of oil and liquid for the soup

PAELLA  ( 2 step Cookery)

1 dozen Cherrystone clams
1 box each: frozen peas and artichoke hearts
1 large tin canned tomatoes
1 box cleaned frozen shrimps
2 small sweet Spanish or Italian sausages
Diced meat from one small chicken ( pre-cooked)
1/2 cup olive oil
1/2 cup chopped onions
1/2 tsp each: tarragon, oregano, chevril, salt, pepper, chives
1/2 tsp saffron (soaked in 1T hot water)
1/4 tsp pepper
2 cups consomme
1 cup quick-cooking rice
1 minced clove garlic

      Step 1: Steam the chicken ( or cook in a pressure cooker); cool slightly and dice the meat. Slightly undercook peas, artichoke hearts and shrimp.

Step 2: saute onions and garlic in olive oil. Add consomme, rice, seasonings, chicken, tomatoes and sliced sausages. Cover and simmer 10 minutes, checking occasionally to stir and add extra consomme if needed.

Add peas, artichoke hearts, cooked shrimps, and place well-scrubbed clams on top. Cover tightly and steam for 10 minutes or until the clam shells open.

Serve with strips of pimiento for decoration.

Real Spaniards use: eels, lobster, crabs, fried eggplant sticks and oysters, mushrooms—any or all ...Paella is one of the great dishes, to be made with whatever is available.

 BOUILLABAISSE

2 pounds of mixed fish; cod or halibut, bass, mackarel, smelts, porgy or flounder, eel, red snapper, whiting, perch...have the fish cut in 1 1/2 inch serving pieces bones and all
1 small cooked lobster, cut into serving pieces (shell and all)
1 dozen clams, well scrubbed in their shells
1/4 cup olive oil
3 sliced onions
3 crushed garlic cloves
2 sliced celery stalks (including the leaves)
2 chopped scallions or 1 peeled chopped leak
2 crumbled bay leaves
4 peeled chopped very ripe tomatoes ( or a large drained tin)
4 cup bouillon
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper
1/4 tsp nutmeg
1/2 tsp saffron steeped in 1T hot water
1/2 tsp grated orange peel
2 cups white wine
2 tsp chopped parsley

OPTIONAL—if you live near the seashore:

2 small boiled crabs                     2 dozen   cleaned, deveined

Mussels, in place of clams          raw shrimp

Place vegetables and seasonings in a large pot—choose one with a tight cover!

Distribute the firm-fleshed fish  (cod, halibut, eel, turbot, snapper, mackerel, sea bass) atop the vegetables, add olive oil, wine, and a cup of hot water.

Bring to the boil, and boil VIOLENTLY for 5 minutes.

Add the soft-fleshed fish (smelts, whiting, porgy, perch, etc.) and boil violently for exactly 3 minutes.

Add the cooked cut lobster and scrubbed clams (as well as crabs, mussels and shrimps, if you are using them) and again boil fiercely for 8 minutes.

Remove at once from the fire.

To serve Bouillabaisse, use the large old-fashioned soup dishes if you are lucky enough to have them. Garlic or Par­mesan toasted stale bread—plus a substantial green salad— go with Bouillabaisse. Put a piece of stale bread in the bot­tom of the soup plate, apportion the various kinds of fish and shellfish on top, and add enough of the liquid to float the fish. Serve plenty of extra bread for sopping up the juice.

CIOPPINO or ZUPPA DA PESCA

1 pound bass cut in serving slices
2 cooked lobsters cut in pieces (shell and all)
1 cooked crab cut in pieces ( like the lobster)
1 package frozen cleaned shrimp
12 scrubbed Little Neck clams or mussels
1/2 cup chopped mushrooms
1/2 cup olive oil
1 large chopped onion
2 minced cloves of garlic
2 T minced parsley
1 large chopped green pepper (seeds removed)
1 bay leaf
2 cloves
1 large tine of drained tomatoes
1 cup red wine
1 cup hot water
1 tsp salt
1 dash Cayenne pepper

Saute: onions, garlic, parsley, green pepper and seasonings in warm olive oil for 5 minutes.

Add mushrooms, tomatoes, bass and shrimp, water and wine.

Cover tightly and cook briskly for 10 minutes.

Add lobsters, crab and clams or mus­sels; cover tightly and cook briskly for 10 minutes.

     Serve in large soup plates, with plenty of fresh Italian bread, a glass of red wine, and a plain green salad

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