Catalan Seafood Stew: 2000s Recipes + Menus : gourmet.com

2000s Recipes + Menus

Serves6 to 8 (Main Course)

ADAPTED FROM ALICIA JUANPERE, CATACURIAN COOKING SCHOOL, EL MASROIG, SPAIN

May 2008

The stew should be juicy (“suquet,” in Catalan)—not too soupy, not too thick—cooked with just enough liquid to cover the ingredients.

2 dried ñora peppers, wiped clean
2 tablespoons hazelnuts, toasted and most of skins rubbed off in a kitchen towel while warm
2 tablespoons blanched almonds, toasted
2 garlic cloves
1/4 teaspoon saffron threads, crumbled

Soak peppers in boiling-hot water (weight with a plate if they float) until softened, about 45 minutes. Discard stems and tear open peppers, then dip in soaking water to remove seeds. Scrape flesh from skin with a small sharp knife (discard skin).
Pound nuts with garlic to a smooth paste using mortar and pestle. Add saffron, then add peppers and grind to a paste.

Cut an X in bottom of each tomato and blanch in a large pot of boiling water 30 seconds, then peel, seed, and chop.
Peel potatoes and cut into 1/3-inch-thick slices. Break slices into 1-inch pieces.
Heat 1/2 cup oil in a 12-inch nonstick skillet over medium-high heat until hot, then cook potatoes, stirring occasionally, until pale golden, 8 to 10 minutes.
Cook garlic with parsley in remaining 1/4 cup oil in a wide 6- to 8-quart heavy pot over medium heat, stirring, until fragrant.
Stir in tomatoes and wine and briskly simmer 1 minute. Add potatoes with a slotted spoon, then add stock and simmer, covered, 10 minutes. Increase heat to high.
Thin picada with some liquid from pot, then add to pot with paprika and 1 teaspoon salt. Cook until broth is slightly thickened, 3 to 5 minutes. Add clams and cook, covered, until they start to open, 3 to 7 minutes.
Add mussels. Toss hake and shrimp with 1/4 teaspoon salt and add to stew. Cook, covered, until shells open wide and hake and shrimp are cooked, 4 to 8 minutes; discard unopened shellfish.