Ready to lick your fingers clean with this delicious Spanish dish?
A few weeks before Christmas, my mother called me to ask if I fancied Zarzuela, a kind of Spanish fish stew with different types of fish, for Christmas. Normally, for Christmas, I make Beef Wellington, leg of lamb, rack of lamb, or we have gourmet dining, so this was a nice and welcome change. I had already made the Beef Wellington a few days earlier for a group of friends, so I didn't mind not making a second one.
On Christmas Day, my father was happily cooking in the kitchen to make the Zarzuela according to his own recipe. The various types of fish had all been cleaned and were ready to go into the pan. Delicious with a piece of baguette or ciabatta to soak up the sauce. Really tasty, and funny enough, I saw others preparing the same dish on Instagram.
I had to estimate the quantities a bit, partly because the pan was completely emptied. It looked like a lot, but it was finger-licking good. A generous stack of napkins is recommended.
For this dish, for 2 to 3 people, you need:
- Olive oil for cooking (my parents, of course, have a 5-liter can of Oro de Genave, but the small bottle of olive oil works too)
- Jar of fish stock
- Handful of parsley
- Few strands of saffron
- Few pieces of toasted bread (picatoste)
- 20 grams of fried almonds
- Packet of fritada or ratatouille (250ml)
- 1 sliced bell 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:
- 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 a bit longer to cook through but then doesn't fall apart. Cod is also an option.
- Cut the bell pepper into pieces, dice the bell pepper, fry some unroasted almonds in a pan until lightly toasted.
- Mix the fish stock, parsley, saffron, toasted bread, and almonds in a blender until smooth, so they can easily be added to the dish later.
- Then pour a generous layer of olive oil for cooking into a large casserole, high enough to allow plenty of space for sauce and ingredients. I use Oro de Genave , ideal for cooking at higher temperatures.
- Start by frying the monkfish. First dredge it in some flour (breading) to prevent splashing and to give the fish a brown crust. Then remove from the pan.
- Repeat these steps with all other types of fish. They all need a little cooking and a brown color. Later, all fish types will be combined and cooked further.
- When you are done browning the fish, you can sauté the chopped onion. Keep stirring constantly until it becomes translucent.
- Then add the bell pepper, the fritada, or for simplicity, ratatouille. Let the mixture thicken slightly.
- Now begin adding the different types of fish. Start with the monkfish, calamari, shrimp, mussels, and place the cigalas (langoustines) on top.
- Then add the fish stock and let the whole thing cook and thicken a bit. The monkfish really needs some time to cook through (about 10 minutes), so don't remove it from the heat too soon.
- Remove from heat and serve with a baguette or ciabatta to soak up the sauce.
- Enjoy, and don't forget to lay out plenty of napkins to wipe your fingers!
Our olive oil tip for this recipe
For this recipe, we like to use Oro de Genave from Andalusia. This extra virgin olive oil, with its intense flavor and suitability for cooking at higher temperatures, perfectly complements this dish.
Buen provecho!
