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Zarzuela

Zarzuela—the word means “medley” in Spanish—unites a variety of fish and is, like bouillabaisse, a dish whose ingredients can be varied according to what you can find. The traditional sauce accompaniment for Zarzuela is Romesco (page 606), but the variation makes that superfluous. I love this with crusty bread.

Recipe information

  • Yield

    makes 4 servings

Ingredients

3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
1 tablespoon minced garlic
1 large onion, chopped
3 tablespoons Spanish brandy or cognac
1 small dried chile or 1/2 teaspoon hot red pepper flakes
Pinch of saffron threads, optional
2 large tomatoes (drained canned are fine), cored and diced
Salt and black pepper to taste
1/2 cup dry white wine
1 1/2 pounds mussels, cleaned (page 208)
1 1/2 pounds littleneck or mahogany clams or cockles, well scrubbed
1/2 pound shrimp (15 to 30 per pound), peeled
1/2 pound squid, cleaned (page 98), cut into rings, tentacles left intact
1 pound fillets of halibut, monkfish, grouper, or other firm white fish, skinned and cut into 1-inch chunks
Chopped fresh parsley leaves for garnish

Preparation

  1. Step 1

    Put the oil in a deep skillet or flameproof casserole with a lid and place over medium-high heat. Add the garlic and onion and cook until the onion is soft, about 5 minutes. Add the brandy and bring the mixture to a boil. Crumble the chile and saffron if you’re using it into the skillet, then stir in the tomatoes along with a little salt and pepper. When the tomatoes break up, add the wine and bring to a boil.

    Step 2

    Add the mussels and clams and cover. Cook until the first of these begin to open, about 5 minutes. Add the shrimp, squid, and fish and cook until the shrimp is pink, the fish cooked through, and most of the mollusks open, another 5 to 10 minutes. Taste and adjust the seasoning, then garnish and serve.

  2. Nutty Zarzuela

    Step 3

    In a food processor or blender, process 1 cup toasted almonds or hazelnuts with the garlic, onion, and 1/2 cup water until a paste is formed. Add this paste to the skillet in step 1 where you would have added the garlic and onion. Double the amount of white wine and proceed as directed.

The Best Recipes in the World by Mark Bittman. © 2005 by Mark Bittman. Published by Broadway Books. All Rights Reserved. MARK BITTMAN is the author of the blockbuster The Best Recipes in the World (Broadway, 2005) and the classic bestseller How to Cook Everything, which has sold more than one million copies. He is also the coauthor, with Jean-Georges Vongerichten, of Simple to Spectacular and Jean-Georges: Cooking at Home with a Four-Star Chef. Mr. Bittman is a prolific writer, makes frequent appearances on radio and television, and is the host of The Best Recipes in the World, a 13-part series on public television. He lives in New York and Connecticut.
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