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Modern French Stews
Recipe
2 hr

Chicken Bouillabaisse

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Chicken Bouillabaisse
Author: America's Test Kitchen

Recipe By America's Test Kitchen

Published on January 8, 2025

Could we take the garlicky fennel and saffron flavors of France’s most famous fish stew and adapt them to a chicken dinner?

Time

2 hr

Yield

Serves 4 to 6

Why This Recipe Works

Adapting France’s famous fish stew to make a chicken bouillabaisse recipe involved several steps: substituting canned chicken broth for fish stock, adding flour and tomato paste to the saffron and cayenne before adding the broth to give the sauce extra body, adding pastis earlier than usual to give the alcohol time to cook off, and using canned tomatoes, which are reliable year-round. To help the chicken skin stay crisp, we switched from stovetop to oven cooking, where the heat from above kept the moisture from condensing on the chicken. To brighten the traditional saffron mayonnaise for our chicken bouillabaisse recipe, we added lemon juice and Dijon mustard.

Ingredients

Bouillabaisse

3 pounds split bone-in chicken breast (or thighs or drumsticks), skin-on, trimmed of excess fat
Table salt and ground black pepper
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 large leek (white and light green parts only), halved lengthwise, rinsed, and sliced thin (about 1 cup)
1 small fennel bulb, halved lengthwise, cored, and sliced thin (about 2 cups)
¼ teaspoon saffron threads
¼ teaspoon cayenne pepper
1 tablespoon unbleached all-purpose flour
4 garlic cloves, minced
1 tablespoon tomato paste
1 (14.5-ounce) can diced tomatoes, drained
½ cup dry white wine
3 cups chicken broth
1 strip orange zest (from 1 orange), removed with vegetable peeler, about 3 inches long, cleaned of white pith
¼ cup pastis or Pernod
¾ pound Yukon Gold potato (1 large or 2 small), cut into ¾-inch cubes
1 tablespoon chopped fresh tarragon leaves or parsley leaves

Rouille and Croutons

3 tablespoons water
¼ teaspoon saffron threads
1 baguette
4 teaspoons lemon juice
2 teaspoons Dijon mustard
1 large egg yolk
¼ teaspoon cayenne pepper
2 small garlic cloves, minced
½ cup vegetable oil
½ cup plus 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, divided
Table salt and ground black pepper

Instructions

Cook along with these step-by-step instructions

step 1 imagestep 2 imagestep 3 imagestep 4 image
  1. FOR THE BOUILLABAISSE: Adjust oven racks to middle and lower positions and heat oven to 375 degrees. Pat chicken dry with paper towels and season with salt and pepper. Heat oil in large Dutch oven over medium-high heat until just smoking. Add chicken pieces, skin-side down, and cook without moving until well browned, 5 to 8 minutes. Using tongs, flip chicken and brown other side, about 3 minutes. Transfer chicken to large plate.
  2. Add leek and fennel; cook, stirring often, until vegetables begin to soften and turn translucent, about 4 minutes. Add saffron, cayenne, flour, garlic, and tomato paste and cook until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Add tomatoes, wine, broth, orange zest, pastis, and potatoes; bring to simmer. Reduce heat to medium-low and simmer 10 minutes.
  3. Nestle chicken thighs and drumsticks into simmering liquid with skin above surface of liquid; cook, uncovered, 5 minutes. Nestle breast pieces into simmering liquid, adjusting pieces as necessary to ensure skin stays above surface of liquid. Bake on middle rack, uncovered, until instant-read thermometer inserted into thickest part of chicken registers 145 degrees for breasts and 160 for drumsticks and thighs, 10 to 20 minutes.
  4. FOR THE ROUILLE: While chicken cooks, microwave water and saffron in medium microwave-safe bowl on high power until water is steaming, 10 to 20 seconds. Allow to sit 5 minutes. Cut 3-inch piece off of baguette; remove and discard crust. Tear crustless bread into 1-inch chunks (you should have about 1 cup). Stir bread pieces and lemon juice into saffron-infused water; soak 5 minutes. Using whisk, mash soaked bread mixture until uniform paste forms, 1 to 2 minutes. Whisk in mustard, egg yolk, cayenne, and garlic until smooth, about 15 seconds. Whisking constantly, slowly drizzle in vegetable oil in steady stream until smooth mayonnaise-like consistency is reached, scraping down bowl as necessary. Slowly whisk in 1/2 cup olive oil in steady stream until smooth. Season to taste with salt and pepper.
  5. FOR THE CROUTONS: Cut remaining baguette into 3/4-inch-thick slices. Arrange slices in single layer on rimmed baking sheet. Drizzle with remaining 2 tablespoons olive oil and season with salt and pepper. Bake on lower rack until light golden brown (can be toasted while bouillabaisse is in oven), 10 to 15 minutes.
  6. Remove bouillabaisse and croutons from oven and set oven to broil. Once heated, return bouillabaisse to oven and cook until chicken skin is crisp and instant-read thermometer inserted into thickest part of chicken registers 160 degrees for breasts and 175 for drumsticks and thighs, 5 to 10 minutes (smaller pieces may cook faster than larger pieces; remove individual pieces as they reach temperature).
  7. Transfer chicken pieces to large plate. Skim excess fat from broth. Stir tarragon into broth and season with salt and pepper. Transfer broth and potatoes to large shallow serving bowls and top with chicken pieces. Drizzle 1 tablespoon rouille over each portion and spread 1 teaspoon rouille on each crouton. Serve, floating 2 croutons in each bowl and passing remaining croutons and rouille separately.

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Chicken Bouillabaisse

Recipe By America's Test Kitchen

Published on January 8, 2025

Time

2 hr

Yield

Serves 4 to 6

Chicken Bouillabaisse

Ingredients

Bouillabaisse

3 pounds split bone-in chicken breast (or thighs or drumsticks), skin-on, trimmed of excess fatTable salt and ground black pepper2 tablespoons olive oil1 large leek (white and light green parts only), halved lengthwise, rinsed, and sliced thin (about 1 cup)1 small fennel bulb, halved lengthwise, cored, and sliced thin (about 2 cups)¼ teaspoon saffron threads¼ teaspoon cayenne pepper1 tablespoon unbleached all-purpose flour4 garlic cloves, minced 1 tablespoon tomato paste1 (14.5-ounce) can diced tomatoes, drained½ cup dry white wine3 cups chicken broth1 strip orange zest (from 1 orange), removed with vegetable peeler, about 3 inches long, cleaned of white pith¼ cup pastis or Pernod¾ pound Yukon Gold potato (1 large or 2 small), cut into ¾-inch cubes1 tablespoon chopped fresh tarragon leaves or parsley leaves

Rouille and Croutons

3 tablespoons water¼ teaspoon saffron threads1 baguette4 teaspoons lemon juice2 teaspoons Dijon mustard1 large egg yolk¼ teaspoon cayenne pepper2 small garlic cloves, minced½ cup vegetable oil½ cup plus 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, dividedTable salt and ground black pepper

Instructions

  1. FOR THE BOUILLABAISSE: Adjust oven racks to middle and lower positions and heat oven to 375 degrees. Pat chicken dry with paper towels and season with salt and pepper. Heat oil in large Dutch oven over medium-high heat until just smoking. Add chicken pieces, skin-side down, and cook without moving until well browned, 5 to 8 minutes. Using tongs, flip chicken and brown other side, about 3 minutes. Transfer chicken to large plate.
  2. Add leek and fennel; cook, stirring often, until vegetables begin to soften and turn translucent, about 4 minutes. Add saffron, cayenne, flour, garlic, and tomato paste and cook until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Add tomatoes, wine, broth, orange zest, pastis, and potatoes; bring to simmer. Reduce heat to medium-low and simmer 10 minutes.
  3. Nestle chicken thighs and drumsticks into simmering liquid with skin above surface of liquid; cook, uncovered, 5 minutes. Nestle breast pieces into simmering liquid, adjusting pieces as necessary to ensure skin stays above surface of liquid. Bake on middle rack, uncovered, until instant-read thermometer inserted into thickest part of chicken registers 145 degrees for breasts and 160 for drumsticks and thighs, 10 to 20 minutes.
  4. FOR THE ROUILLE: While chicken cooks, microwave water and saffron in medium microwave-safe bowl on high power until water is steaming, 10 to 20 seconds. Allow to sit 5 minutes. Cut 3-inch piece off of baguette; remove and discard crust. Tear crustless bread into 1-inch chunks (you should have about 1 cup). Stir bread pieces and lemon juice into saffron-infused water; soak 5 minutes. Using whisk, mash soaked bread mixture until uniform paste forms, 1 to 2 minutes. Whisk in mustard, egg yolk, cayenne, and garlic until smooth, about 15 seconds. Whisking constantly, slowly drizzle in vegetable oil in steady stream until smooth mayonnaise-like consistency is reached, scraping down bowl as necessary. Slowly whisk in 1/2 cup olive oil in steady stream until smooth. Season to taste with salt and pepper.
  5. FOR THE CROUTONS: Cut remaining baguette into 3/4-inch-thick slices. Arrange slices in single layer on rimmed baking sheet. Drizzle with remaining 2 tablespoons olive oil and season with salt and pepper. Bake on lower rack until light golden brown (can be toasted while bouillabaisse is in oven), 10 to 15 minutes.
  6. Remove bouillabaisse and croutons from oven and set oven to broil. Once heated, return bouillabaisse to oven and cook until chicken skin is crisp and instant-read thermometer inserted into thickest part of chicken registers 160 degrees for breasts and 175 for drumsticks and thighs, 5 to 10 minutes (smaller pieces may cook faster than larger pieces; remove individual pieces as they reach temperature).
  7. Transfer chicken pieces to large plate. Skim excess fat from broth. Stir tarragon into broth and season with salt and pepper. Transfer broth and potatoes to large shallow serving bowls and top with chicken pieces. Drizzle 1 tablespoon rouille over each portion and spread 1 teaspoon rouille on each crouton. Serve, floating 2 croutons in each bowl and passing remaining croutons and rouille separately.
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