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Fish Stew Recipe – Spanish Style

Prep Time20 minutes
Cook Time30 minutes
Total Time50 minutes
Course: Main Course
Cuisine: American
Servings: 6 servings

Ingredients

  • 5 tablespoons olive oil
  • 2 large onions finely chopped
  • 2 ripe tomatoes skinned, de-seeded and diced
  • 2 slices white bread remove the crusts
  • 4 toasted almonds
  • 3 cloves garlic chopped roughly
  • 12 ounces cooked lobster we just happened to have some cooked leftover lobster from a previous dinner
  • 7 ounces cleaned squid we omitted this item - not sure the girls would appreciate it although they love calamari
  • 7 ounces monk fish also sometimes referred to as "poor man's lobster"
  • 7 ounces cod fillet no skin
  • 1 tablespoon all purpose flour
  • 6 large shrimp
  • 6 langoustines
  • 18 live mussels cleaned and beards removed
  • 8 live clams cleaned
  • 1 tablespoon fresh parsley chopped
  • ½ cup brandy
  • salt and pepper to taste

Instructions

Preparing the Sofrito

  • Add 3 tablespoons of oil to a large frying pan and add the onions.
  • Cook the onions gently on low - medium heat for 10 minutes until they are caramelized and golden brown. If they start to stick to the pan, you can add a little water.
  • Add the tomatoes and continue cooking until they break down.

Preparing the Picada

  • Heat 1 tablespoon of oil in another pan and fry the bread slices until crisp.
  • Add the bread to a food processor along with the almonds and 2 garlic cloves and process until it forms a fine paste.
  • Preparing the Seafood
  • If you are starting with an uncooked lobster, boil it until done and then remove the meat from the tail and the claws.
  • You can mess with the other part of the lobster, but I would save it for making seafood stock for bisque or soup.
  • Slice the squid into rings if you didn't buy them already sliced.

Preparing the Seafood

  • Dust the cod, lobster and monkfish with a little flour. Brown all the seafood separately in a frying pan with the remaining oil.
  • Start with the cod, then the monkfish, lobster, squid and finish with the shrimp.
  • Once browned, add all the seafood to a large flameproof casserole pan.
  • Now you add the clams and mussels to the top of the fish, sprinkle with the remaining garlic and parsley.
  • Add the brandy to the pan (off heat and be very careful) and ignite. Keep your hands and face away from the pan so you don't burn yourself.
  • When the flame goes out, add the pan back to the stove, add the tomato mixture (sofrito) and just enough water to cover the seafood. Bring this to a boil, reduce heat and simmer for 3 to 4 minutes.
  • When all the mussels and clams have opened, you are done. Be sure to discard and mussels or clams that didn't open.
  • Finish by stirring in the bread mixture, taste and adjust seasonings with salt and pepper.
  • Let this continue simmering for 5 minutes to make sure all the fish is tender and good.