Spanish Seafood Casserole

The best fish and seafood in Europe is found in Spain. I love it cooked a la plancha (grilled, usually with garlic and olive oil) or in this famous seafood casserole called zarzuela. Fond memories of New Year’s Day a couple of years ago, when we sat outside for lunch enjoying the winter sun and lunch at one of the excellent seafood restaurants in the Marina at Barcelona.

This version has a very Southern French treatment with Pastis, Vermouth, a little cream and orange peel that I like very much. The fish and seafood can be varied considerably according to what is available. Oily fish – such as mackerel or herring, soft fish such as plaice and strong tasting fish such as tuna are not suitable for this recipe.

Ingredients:

500 g firm white fish in nice chunks (monkfish is ideal)
125g salmon (optional but the pink looks nice)
150g scallops
12 peeled raw prawns, heads on.
2-3 handfuls of mussels
1 large onion
1 red pepper
3 tbsp olive oil
250 ml fish stock or water
125 ml white Vermouth
2 tbsp Pastis
½ tsp saffron powder or threads (optional!)
3 ripe tomatoes, peeled, seeded and chopped
1 strip dried orange peel
5 tbsp crème fraiche
Pinch chilli powder
2 red peppers from a jar

Method:

Cut the fish into nice chunks about 2 ½ cm by 2 ½ cm. Scrub the mussels with a stiff brush and pull off the ‘beards’.

Cook the onion and red pepper in the olive oil in a nice roomy pan until very soft and then add the tomato, garlic and paprika, cooking down until a thick paste. I use a non stick wok. Pour in the stock, Vermouth, bay leaf and orange peel and simmer for 5 minutes. Pour tbsp hot water over the saffron threads and leave to soak.

Add the fish in a single layer, in batches if necessary, and poach the fish on a very gentle simmer until cooked through (about 5 minutes per batch) with the lid on. Remove and keep warm. When the fish has all been cooked, add the scallops, cooking for about 1 minute until they firm up, remove and reserve, then add the prawns, cooking until they turn pink, removing and reserving them too and finally the mussels, cooking them on a high heat until they open up. Remove and reserve these, throwing any away that do not open. Discard the bay leaf and orange peel.

Boil the juices hard for 5 minutes to concentrate their flavour. Add the Pastis, crème fraîche, and taste for seasoning, adding a little Tabasco if desired. Slip in the red peppers cut into strips or squares. Thicken the sauce lightly with potato flour (1 tsp slaked in 2tbsp cold water) and pour in the saffron and its soaking liquid. Return the seafood to the pan and let it sit in the hot sauce for 5 minutes to allow flavours to exchange.

Sprinkle with continental parsley before serving; I like to serve this from the cooking dish. I serve this with rice or bread, no vegetables with this one.