The Inspiration
When two classic cuisines collide, something delicious happens. Take France and Italy. Bouillabaisse is a seafood stew first developed in the coastal city of Marseille, France, as a way to use up fish that wasn’t accepted by local restaurants. Meanwhile in Italy’s waterfront city of Naples, the working class ate inexpensive flatbreads topped with the basics: oil, tomatoes, cheese, garlic and anchovies. Marry the two dishes, and voila: Bouillabaisse Pizza is born.
Cristian Asitimbay, executive chef at AKB New York, created a Bouillabaisse Pizza recipe while in his first executive chef role at a restaurant in Long Beach, Long Island. Owned by an Italian American, the coastal restaurant had a brick oven for pizzas, so Cristian took the opportunity to use the equipment to create a recipe using local seafood. Served as a shareable or as a main dish, the seafood soup bowl was a communitywide hit.
The Recipe
AKB New York’s new pizza oven has been put to good use as Cristian has perfected his recipe. The garlicky marinara sauce is spiked with white wine, and calamari joins jumbo shrimp, littleneck clams, PEI mussels and bay scallops. And yes — the pizza dough works wonders soaking up the savory broth.
Cristian’s Bouillabaisse Pizza will be featured on the AKB menu November 15 – December 31, 2022. Come hungry!
Ingredients
- 8 ounces calamari
- 3 jumbo shrimp (U-15)
- 8 littleneck clams
- 4 ounces PEI mussels
- 2 ounces bay scallops
- 1 ounce chopped celery
- 1 ounce diced red bell pepper
- 3 ounces chopped garlic
- 2 ounces olive oil
- 1 cup marinara sauce
- 4 ounces white wine
- 10 grams fresh basil (about 1/2 cup)
- 2 grams salt (about 1/3 teaspoon)
- 1 gram black pepper (about 1/2 teaspoon)
- 8 ounces pizza dough
Directions
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Prepare bread bowl: Fold dough into a bowl shape and bake at 450˚ for 6 - 8 minutes.
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Prepare bouillabaisse: In a saucepan over medium heat, add olive oil, garlic, celery and red bell pepper until translucent. Add calamari and cook 2 minutes. Add clams, mussels and spices and cook for 3 minutes. Add shrimp and scallops and cook for 1 minute. Add wine and most of the basil (reserving some basil for a garnish). Turn to heat to high, add marinara sauce and cook for 3 minutes. Add salt and pepper to taste.
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Pour soup into the prepared bread bowl. Bake in the oven for 1 minute. Garnish with remaining basil and plate.
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