A regional rift on bouillabaisse gives fish stew special flair

There are two kinds of muddles. One is a sweet muddle of sugar and lemon, perhaps mint, stirred together to make a base to be added to iced tea and, in some variation, to bourbon for mint juleps.

The other kind of muddle, or "mess," is a fish muddle. Fishermen do not often have the luck to catch a whole school of fish, or didn't prior to sonar and some of the other modern-day tracking devices. So every cuisine that fronts a coast has some sort of stew that combines many kinds of fish.

The muddle was coined centuries ago in England and the name came to the colonies. Muddles are from Virginia to the Lowcountry of South Carolina and Georgia.

Although clams are frequently seen in the ones from Virginia, along with mussels, there are many variations. There also is a muddle that originated with the Gullah people on the barrier islands off the Georgia/South Carolina coast.

Although we are all capable of making a muddle of our lives, for once I made a fish muddle that everyone loved. In fact, I am dreaming of it still.

I had been craving a fish muddle, or Southern bouillabaisse, after Anne Willan visited Charleston and I had purchased her stunning book, "The Country Cooking of France."

I knew I couldn't make a true bouillabaisse because some fish are integral to one, such as rascasse (Anne calls it an unpleasantly bony, though tasty, white-fleshed fish,) a vive (a weever with a poisonous spine) and other Mediterranean fish. I wanted to use Lowcountry fish as much as I could.

Using her recipe as a rough guide, I learned some tricks that I've included in the recipe. Because it is a long recipe full of ingredients, it looks much more difficult than it is. It's a perfect thing to cook, however, when you are home doing chores and can give the muddle a little attention during the day and then a lot during the last 10 minutes before serving.

The fish can be substituted according to what's available. Remember that the cost of this is much less than taking eight people to dinner because the cost is a bit heady when you are in the fish store.

And, like me, I hope you will dream of it after you eat it. What's important is a flavorful broth full of fish bones, including a head if you can get it. And garlic, a lot of it. Usually a wine or liquor — in this case Pernod, an anise liquor — is added to give it an extra boost of flavor at the end. The anise is not discernible, but the increase in flavor is.

The whole soup is garnished with croutes (toasted baguette slices) with rouille (a garlic/red pepper/tomato mayonnaise), making it absolutely scrumptious at the finish. Rather than making my own croutes, I purchased two cartons of toasted baguette slices from the grocery store. And I used store-bought mayonnaise and doctored it up until I loved the way it tasted.

For the broth, I bummed the grouper rack (that is, the head and spine of a large grouper) from the nice people at Crosby's Seafood, calling ahead to be sure they saved one. A lot of flesh was still clinging to it. If you have a stash of shrimp and crab shells, or can get your hands on some, that will boost the broth's flavor even more.

The broth may be made a day ahead of time or frozen and defrosted when ready to serve.

Making a marinade for the fish is a trick I learned from Anne, and makes a great deal of difference!

The Lowcountry's Best Fish Muddle (Southern Bouillabaisse)

Serves 8-10

For the broth:

1 large grouper rack (1-2 pounds)

Shrimp shells and crab shells, if available

Any skins or bones from the fish used for the soup

2 heaping tablespoons fennel or anise seeds

For the soup:

About 8-10 tablespoons olive oil (divided use)

7-8 garlic cloves, finely chopped (divided use)

3-4 tablespoons of saffron threads (divided use)

3 pounds assorted South Atlantic fish fillets, such as snapper, grouper, flounder, mahi mahi, sea trout, sheepshead, etc.

3 medium onions, chopped

2 leeks, white part with some green part, sliced (optional)

1 fennel bulb, sliced and chopped (reserve fronds)

2 pounds diced fresh or 28-ounce can diced tomatoes

Zest from 1 orange

Salt

Freshly ground pepper

1 pound shrimp in shell

2 crabs (optional)

1 pound littleneck or cherrystone clams (optional)

1 tablespoon tomato paste

1-2 tablespoons Pernod or an anise liquor

For the croutes and rouille:

Toasted slices from 2 baguettes

1 tablespoon tomato paste

1 cup mayonnaise

Squirt lemon juice

1 tablespoon red wine vinegar

3-4 garlic cloves, finely chopped

1 small fresh hot chile, finely chopped, or a dash of hot sauce

To make the broth: Chop up the spinal cord of the fish into approximately 2-inch pieces. Leave the head of the grouper intact as it contains wonderful meat. Cut the gills out of the head. (The red "eyelashes" on either side of the head are the gills; they may be bitter when cooked.)

In a large pot, place the pieces of fishbone and scraps and shrimp or crab shells if using. Add the fennel seeds and enough water to cover. Bring to a boil, reduce the heat, and simmer 20-25 minutes. Strain, pushing the bones enough to be sure all the liquid has been extracted for use. Discard the bones. Set the broth aside. (Also may be refrigerated for a day or two, or frozen).

For the soup: Make a marinade for the fish, mixing 6 tablespoons olive oil and 3 chopped garlic cloves. Soak 1 tablespoon of the saffron threads in a couple of tablespoons of hot water and add to the olive oil-garlic mixture.

Cut the fish into 2-inch cubes. Keep the fish separated according to type and thickness. Sort out any small scraps and set aside. Toss the fish cubes in the olive oil-garlic marinade and refrigerate in a plastic bag until needed.

Heat 2-4 tablespoons of the olive oil in a large pan. Add the onions, leeks and chopped fennel to the hot oil and saute until soft, taking care not to brown, about 10 minutes. Add 4-5 chopped garlic cloves and saute a minute more. Add the tomatoes, orange zest and a few fennel fronds. Bring to a simmer, reduce heat and cook 10 minutes.

Add the remaining saffron to a couple of tablespoons of the broth and then to the tomato sauce, along with the rest of the strained broth. Bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer 30-40 minutes until extremely flavorful. Season to taste with salt and pepper, remembering that seafood will be added and it may be salty.

For the croutes and rouille: Toast baguette slices if not using prepackaged ones. Add 1 tablespoon of the tomato paste to the mayonnaise, along with the lemon juice, red wine vinegar, chopped garlic and the chopped hot pepper or hot sauce. Taste and make adjustments if needed. Put the mixture in a small container and refrigerate until time for serving.

For serving: Return the broth mixture to a boil. (If needed, add water to cover the fish and seafood.) Add the thickest pieces of the fish and the crabs if using, and cook a few minutes, without letting the broth boil hard.

Add the shrimp, clams if using, and the thinner or more delicate pieces of fish, including scraps. Cook a minute or two in the simmering broth, until the shrimp are pink and the clams open. Remove all the fish and seafood and put on a hot platter.

Season the broth with salt and pepper, tomato paste and Pernod. Simmer and reduce if necessary to increase flavor. Sprinkle fish and seafood with chopped fennel frond if desired.

Spread one side of the baguette slices (croutes) with the rouille.

Serve the broth in a bowl and the fish and seafood on a platter, in the French manner, or mix and serve together. Garnish individual bowls of the "muddle" with rouille-topped croutes.

Nathalie Dupree, who lives in Charleston, is the former director of Rich's Cooking School in Atlanta and the author of eight cookbooks, including "Nathalie Dupree's Comfortable Entertaining." She may be reached at www.nathalie.com.