Ligurian Fish Stew (six servings)
This is an adaptation of a Mario Batali recipe. You are going to have to vary the fish according to what you find at the market. Just buy fresh, firm fish that is not oily. This is a great dish to serve at a dinner party.
This soup is so easy, but it will look as if you spent hours slaving over the stove. If you make it for guests, you will want to cook the seafood after they arrive, but this recipe is so easy that you can do it even if you start drinking with your guests. Make the sauce and prep the fish before your guests arrive. Then I make a little time table on a post-it and stick it near the stove, so I don’t get confused by alcohol. I also use a timer.
6 tablespoons of extra-virgin olive oil
1 medium onion, cut into a ¼ inch dice
1stalk of celery, cut into a ¼ inch dice
1 carrot, cut into a ¼ inch dice
½ bulb of garlic
1 ½ cups of dry white wine
2 cups of tomato sauce (Batali gives a homemade sauce recipe, but I’ve made this with it and with a good jarred sauce (organic, of course), and I can’t tell the difference.
8 ounces grouper fillet, cut into 1-inch cubes
8 ounces snapper fillet, cut into 1-inch cubes
8 ounces halibut fillet, cut into 1-inch cubes
½ pound shrimp (heads off and shelled)
1 pound of mussels, in their shells, rinsed
8 ounces of squid, cleaned and sliced into ½ inch rounds (include the tentacles)
as they look really good in the soup
Salt and freshly ground pepper
1/3 cup chopped flat-leaf parsley
Good loaf of bread round or a baguette. Sourdough is great.
In a heavy pot or Dutch oven over a medium heat, heat the oil. Add the onion, celery, carrot and garlic and cook, stirring occasionally, until softened. (About 8 minutes)
Add the wine and tomato sauce and bring to a boil. Salt and pepper to taste. I also add a couple of dashes of cayenne pepper. I do this before my guests arrive, and turn off the heat. I prep the fish, mussels, shrimp (shelled), and squid and have them ready in the refrigerator. I cut the fish with scissors. Leave the skins on, because they disappear
into the sauce.
Leave your guests with an assortment of drinks and appetizers, and go back into the kitchen.
Bring the sauce back to a boil, add the fish, stir into the sauce, reduce the heat to medium-low, cover, and simmer for about 15 minutes.
Add the mussels, cover again, and simmer until the mussels begin to open, about 4 minutes.
Add the squid and shrimp, stir, and cook just until the mussels have completely opened, and the squid and shrimp have turned color and are cooked through, about 3 minutes. Don’t over cook the squid and shrimp.
Remove any mussels that haven’t opened. Remove the stew from the heat. Taste the sauce, and season again with salt and pepper if needed.
Ladle stew into large shallow bowls and garnish with parsley. Serve immediately with a good round loaf of bread. I’ve never served this over rice, but I bet it would be good with rice organic brown rice, of course.
This soup freezes well. I always double the recipe, so I can enjoy it in the weeks to come.