2 cups fish stock (available from a good fishmonger or seafood specialty store)
10 littleneck clams, cleaned
12 mussels, cleaned — beards removed
1 large peeled and steamed Yukon Gold potato, cut into 1-inch pieces
½ bulb fennel, chopped and blanched but still crunchy
2 pistils saffron
8 oz. skin-on black-bass fillet, sliced into 1-inch-wide pieces
4 head-on peeled shrimp
¼ cup mixed chopped parsley and chervil to taste
Lemon juice
2 tbs. extra-virgin olive oil
Bring the fish stock to a boil in a heavy-bottomed pan. Add the clams and cover until they are just opened. Remove clams and set aside. Repeat with the mussels. Add the potato, fennel, and saffron and return to a boil, then add the fish and shrimp and cook over moderate heat for 2 minutes. Once the fish is cooked, return the mussels and clams to the pan. Sprinkle with parsley and a few drops of lemon juice and drizzle with olive oil. Serve immediately in the same pan, with croutons on the side.
Aïoli:
1 small potato, peeled and cooked, about 2-by-1 inches
1 egg yolk
1 tbs. sherry vinegar
½ cup extra-virgin olive oil
7 garlic cloves blanched in milk (cover garlic cloves in cold milk, bring to a boil, peel, remove germ, and chop finely)
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
In a medium bowl, mash the potato with the egg yolk and the vinegar, and season with salt and pepper. Pour in the olive oil a little at a time, whisking until the oil is incorporated before adding more, as if you were making a mayonnaise. Stir in the chopped garlic and a few drops of lemon juice and season to taste with salt and pepper. Serve the aïoli in a bowl on the side to allow everyone to add as much as they like to the bourride.
For the past several months I’ve been on more of a health kick than usual and have been simplifying by meals and my life in general. But I strayed from that temporarily by incorporating classic French sauces to my repertoire over the influence of watching French chefs cook on TV. I think I missed my calling….to be a chef hey, no judgement, I can fantasize (although I could not handle some of the things they have to do in order to become one). Things like deboning meat and serving up what I no longer have an interest in eating either for ethical reasons or I just plain don’t enjoy. I shared this recipe but I’ve lost my desire for shrimp and shellfish in general. Personally, I would make this with mostly or only white fish. Maybe in my version you would call it boring bourride. I’ll let you know how it turns out.
ENJOY!
Le Coucou is located at 138 Lafayette Street in Soho, New York.
Girl Who Would be KING on Life, Style and INSPIRATION. 
Wow! Looks amazing!