Below is the recipe for the bouillabaisse served by David Myers at Comme Ça in West Hollywood and Las Vegas. The seafood combo he uses is excellent, of course, but if something else strikes your fancy feel free to tailor it to your tastes. (I’d personally swap out the mussels for crab, for instance. There is room for delicious improvisation here.)
Bouillabaisse
serves 4
3/4 cup olive oil
Bones and heads (gills removed) from fish for recipe
Shrimp shells from shrimp for recipe
2 onions, thinly sliced
2 shallots, sliced
1 bulb fennel, sliced
3 tomatoes - peeled, seeded and chopped
4 cloves garlic, minced
In a sachet:
1 fennel top from one bulb fennel
2 sprig thyme
1 bay leaf
1 pinch saffron threads
1 cup Pernod
3/4 pound mussels, cleaned and debearded
1 pound sea bass filets, cut into 2 inch wide pieces
1 pound snapper filets, cut into 2 inch wide pieces
3/4 pound fresh shrimp, peeled and deveined
