Bouillabaisse Paccheri (Miramonti l'Altro Style)

Components

This dish has four main components built over 6+ hours:
1. Spiced fish broth reduction
2. Seared fish in soffritto
3. Beurre blanc-style emulsified sauce
4. Dehydrated fish powder garnish

Ingredients

Spiced Oil
- Curry, turmeric, paprika, saffron, chili pepper, black pepper
- Mixed with oil to form a spiced base oil used throughout

Fish Broth Reduction
- Fish scraps, roasted in oven with spiced oil first
- Shallots, carrots, celery, onion, garlic
- White wine (to deglaze)
- Cold water to cover
- Reduced for 2 hours to half volume, then strained and further reduced

Seared Fish
- Fillets (scorpionfish, John Dory, monkfish or similar)
- Seared hard in oil then butter
- Placed in soffritto pan, deglazing pan with white wine
- Simmered with fish broth for 3-4 hours, adding broth as needed
- Strained — flesh set aside and dehydrated overnight at 60°C to make crispy powder

Emulsified Sauce
- Fish broth reduction
- Small amount of cream
- Butter (regular and spiced butter)
- Salt, pepper
- Lemon juice

Pasta
- Paccheri, cooked and risottato in reduction for final 2-3 minutes

To Plate
- Parsley oil
- Dehydrated fish powder (crispy garnish)
- Sauce spooned over at table

Instructions

Day Before — Dehydrated Fish Powder

1. Roast fish scraps in oven with spiced oil.
2. Build soffritto: sauté carrots, celery, onion, garlic in oil. Add generous spiced oil.
3. Add roasted fish scraps. When mixture starts to stick, deglaze with white wine. Cover with cold water.
4. Boil for 2 hours until reduced to half. Strain. Further reduce in a clean pot to make a concentrated sauce.
5. In a separate pan, sear fish fillets hard in oil, pressing down for even contact. Add butter.
6. Transfer fish to soffritto pan. Deglaze searing pan with white wine and add to pot.
7. Simmer with fish broth for 3-4 hours, adding more broth as needed.
8. Strain sauce from fish flesh. Spread flesh on dehydrator tray. Dehydrate overnight at 60°C until dry and crispy.
9. Crumble or process into a powder. Store for plating.

Day Of — Make the Sauce and Finish

1. Heat fish broth reduction in a pan. Add a small amount of cream.
2. Whisk in regular butter gradually to create a beurre blanc emulsion.
3. Add spiced butter and whisk in. Turn off heat.
4. Add a touch more cream to bind. Season with salt, pepper, and lemon juice.

Cook and Plate

1. Cook paccheri to just under al dente in salted water.
2. For final 2-3 minutes, transfer pasta to the reduction pan and risottare — toss and stir continuously to bind pasta with sauce until creamy.
3. Arrange 4-5 paccheri on the base of a deep plate.
4. Drizzle parsley oil.
5. Scatter dehydrated fish powder over the top.
6. Spoon emulsified sauce over the dish at the table.

My Notes

⚠️ This is a reference recipe for technique inspiration — not a casual weeknight dish.
Key techniques to learn from this recipe: roasting scraps before making broth, risottare pasta in the sauce, beurre blanc emulsification, and dehydrating proteins for crispy garnishes.
See companion note: Traditional Bouillabaisse (Philippe Léveillé).