Zarzuela

After the Christmas Eve and Christmas Day feasts (and for some also St. Stephen's Day), there are still a few days of celebrations ahead and lighter dishes are welcome compared to the heavy roasts so typical of these dates. That's why I want to share with you my zarzuela recipe, a traditional dish cooked with fish and shellfish that I'm sure you will love.

As with all fish dishes, the key is not to overcook, so you can imagine this is a recipe that is prepared quickly. With a couple of hours in the kitchen, you'll have the zarzuela ready and all the dishes cleaned and put away. Another plus in favor of including this dish on our Epiphany menu!

To cook the zarzuela I used my Le Creuset shallow casserole. Besides being perfect for these preparations, I find it ideal for bringing to the table. Have you seen how nice it looks when served?

Shallow Cocotte Shallow Casserole type Evolution Le Creuset

Ingredients (for 4 people)

• 400gr monkfish
• 1 gilthead bream
• 1 squid
• 4 Norway lobsters
• 8 prawns
• 16 mussels
• 250gr clams
• 5 pear tomatoes
• 2 onions
• 500ml fish stock
• 200ml of olive oil
• Flour
• Salt

For the picada (pesto):

• 2 garlic cloves
• A few sprigs of parsley
• A pinch of saffron

For the fish fumet:

• 500gr rockfish
• The backbone and head of the gilthead bream used in the recipe
• 1 onion
• 1 leek
• 200ml white wine
• A splash of olive oil
• 3 liters of water

Preparation

For the fish fumet

1. Put all the ingredients for the fumet in a pot.
2. Let it simmer for 30 minutes. Remove from the heat and let it rest for another 30 minutes.
3. Strain it and set it aside.

For the zarzuela

1. Clean the fish and shellfish: I like to trim the whiskers off the prawns with scissors so I don't find them while eating. Clean the mussel shells and soak the clams in salted water. Cut the squid into thin rings. Cut the monkfish into slices. Remove the fillets from the gilthead bream. Cut the bream fillets in half. You can use the bream backbone and head to prepare the fish fumet.
2. Put the mussels in a sauté pan, cover and open the mussels over high heat. Discard shells without meat or those that haven't opened and put the rest in the shallow casserole.
3. Salt all the fish and flour the bream, monkfish and squid.
4. In a deep frying pan, add a splash of olive oil and sauté the langoustines and the prawns. One minute on each side will be enough. Set them aside in the shallow casserole.
5. Add the rest of the oil to the pan and fry the monkfish, the gilthead bream, and the squid in batches. Once browned, put them in the shallow casserole as well.
6. Once you have fried all the fish, remove the oil from the pan, except for 5 tablespoons, which you will use to make the sofrito. To do this, grate the onions and add them to the pan with a pinch of salt. Let cook over medium heat until they begin to brown. Then add the grated tomato* and let it sauté for about 10 minutes. The sofrito should reduce well.
7. Add the fish stock to the pan and let it simmer for 20 minutes. Adjust the salt.
8. Pass the sauce through a chinois to make it smoother and pour it into the shallow casserole over the fish. Add the drained clams to the casserole, set it on the heat with the lid on, and let it cook over low heat for 10 minutes.
9. Prepare the picada by pounding all the ingredients in a mortar. Add a little fish fumet and stir the picada into the casserole. Let the whole Set cook covered over low heat for 5 more minutes. Shake the casserole during cooking so that all the flavors blend well.

Shallow Cocotte Shallow Casserole type Evolution Le Creuset