Zarzuela (Spanish fish stew)

Ready to tickle your fingers for this delicious Spanish dish?

A few weeks before Christmas, my mother called me to ask if I would like to have Zarzuela, a kind of Spanish fish stew, with different types of fish during Christmas. Normally for Christmas I make a Beef Wellington, leg of lamb, rack of lamb or we go gourmet, so this was a tasty and pleasant change. I already made the Beef Wellington a few days ago for a group of friends, so I didn't mind not making a second one.

On Christmas Day, my father was cooking in the kitchen to make the Zarzuela according to his own recipe. The various types of fish were already cleaned and ready to go into the pan. Delicious with a piece of baguette or ciabatta to enjoy the sauce. Really tasty and funny enough, I also saw others on Instagram preparing the same dish.

I had to estimate the quantities a bit, partly because the pan was completely empty. At first glance it seemed like a lot, but it was finger-licking good. A large stack of napkins is recommended.

For this dish you need for 2 to 3 people:

• Olive oil for frying (of course my parents have a 5 liter can of Oro de Genave , but the small bottle of olive oil also works)
• Pot of fish stock
• Handful of parsley
• Few strands of saffron
• A few pieces of toasted bread (picatoste)
• 20 grams of baked almonds
• Pack of fritada or ratatouille (250ml)
• 1 sliced ​​pepper
• 1 chopped onion
• 2 cloves of garlic
• 1 Monkfish or cod (300 grams)
• 6 Cigalas ( langoustines )
• 10 Gambas
• 10 Calamari (Squid Rings)
• 10 Mussels
• Pepper, salt and some flour to bread the monkfish

Preparation:

1. Clean the different types of fish, cut the calamari into rings, cut the monkfish into pieces of about 4 centimeters. In this recipe my father used monkfish, which is a fairly firm type of fish. It needs to cook a little longer, but it doesn't fall apart afterwards. Cod is also possible.
   
2. Cut the pepper into pieces, cut the pepper into cubes, fry some unroasted almonds in a pan so that they are lightly roasted.
3. Blend the fish stock, parsley, saffron, toasted bread and almonds in a blender into a smooth sauce, so that they can easily be added to the dish later.
4. Then put a generous layer of olive oil for frying in a large frying pan, high enough to give plenty of space for the sauce and ingredients.
5. Start by frying the monkfish. First coat it with some flour (breading) to prevent moisture from splashing and to give the fish a brown crust. Then remove from the pan.
6. Continue these steps with all other types of fish. These should all be slightly cooked and brown in color. Later, all types of fish are put together and it continues to cook.
7. When you have finished frying the fish, you can fry the chopped onion. Keep this constantly moving until it becomes glassy.
8. Then add the pepper, the fritada or, to make it easier, ratatouille. Let everything thicken a bit.
9. Now start adding the different types of fish. Start with the monkfish, calamari, shrimp, mussels and place on top the cigalas (langoustines).
10. Then add the fish stock and let it boil and thicken slightly. The monkfish really needs some time to cook (about 10 minutes), so don't remove it from the heat too quickly.
11. Remove from the heat and serve with a baguette or ciabatta to eat the sauce with.
12. Enjoy and don't forget to put out plenty of napkins to wipe your fingers with!

Buen provecho!