Perhaps nothing calls to mind Provence more than bouillabaisse. The brothy soup combines whatever shellfish and white fish were caught fresh with iconic flavors such as saffron, fennel, tomato and garlic. But it’s not so easy for the home cook, so at Christopher Kimball’s Milk Street the cooks swap out the fish for chicken. Fresh fennel, garlic, orange zest and saffron give the braise a rich, heady perfume and an unmistakably Mediterranean flavor. They deeply brown tomato paste to lay the foundation of flavor for the braising liquid. Deglazing the pan with dry white wine adds acidity, while scraping up the flavorful browned bits ensures that no flavor goes wasted.
