Here is a recipe for the bottom of the wardrobe: the recipe for zarzuela, which will get you out of one, two and a hundred troubles! The fish zarzuela is a dish that requires several steps, but it is not complicated at all. And, what is the best? That the result is a dish with which you look great with your guests. Miguel Ángel, author of Green Peppers , tells you how to prepare it.

After the Christmas Eve and Christmas banquets (and for some also Saint Stephen), there are still a few days of celebrations ahead and you want dishes that are not as forceful as the roasts so typical of these dates. That is why I want to share with you my recipe for zarzuela, a traditional dish cooked with fish and shellfish that you are sure to love.

As in all fish dishes, the key is not to overcook, so you can imagine that it is a recipe that is prepared quickly. With a couple of hours in the kitchen, you will have the zarzuela ready and all the pots and pans cleaned and collected. Another point in favor to take this dish into account in our Kings menu!

To cook the zarzuela I used my Le Creuset low cocotte . Apart from being perfect for these elaborations, I find it ideal to take it out to the table . Have you seen how good it is when it comes to serving?

Le Creuset Evolution Low Saucepan Cocotte

Ingredients (for 4 people)

• 400gr of monkfish
• 1 sea bream
• 1 squid
• 4 scampi
• 8 prawns
• 16 mussels
• 250gr of clams
• 5 plum tomatoes
• 2 onions
• 500ml of fish broth
• 200ml olive oil
• Flour
• Salt

For the bite:

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

For the fish stock:

• 500gr rock fish
• The skin and head of the sea bream used in the recipe
• 1 onion
• 1 leek
• 200ml white wine
• A dash of olive oil
• 3 liters of water

Elaboration

From the fish stock

1. Put all the ingredients for the fumet in a pot .
2. Let it boil for 30 minutes. Take it off the heat and let it rest for another 30 minutes.
3. Strain it and reserve it.

of the zarzuela

1. Clean fish and shellfish: I like to trim the whiskers off the prawns with scissors so I don't find them when eating. Clean the shells of the mussels and soak the clams in salt water. Cut the squid into thin rings. Cut the monkfish into slices. Take the fillets out of the sea bream. Split the sea bream fillets in two. The fishbone and the head of the sea bream can be used to prepare the fish stock.
2. Put the mussels in a sauté , cover it and open the mussels over high heat. Remove the shells that have no meat or those that have not been opened and put the rest in the low cocotte .
3. Salt all the fish and flour the sea bream, monkfish and squid.
4. In a deep frying pan , put a splash of olive oil and sauté the crayfish and prawns. One minute on each side will suffice. Reserve them in the low cocotte.
5. Add the rest of the oil to the pan and fry the monkfish, sea bream and squid in batches. Once golden, also put them in the low cocotte.
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 sauce. To do this, grate the onions and add them to the pan with a pinch of salt. Let it cook over medium heat until it starts to brown. Then add the grated tomato* and let it fry for about 10 minutes. The sofrito must be well concentrated.
7. Add the fish broth to the pan and let it cook for 20 minutes. Rectify salt.
8. Pass the sauce through a chinois to make it finer and pour it into the low cocotte over fish. Add the drained clams to the cocotte, put it on the fire with the lid on and let it cook over low heat for 10 minutes.
9. Prepare the picada by mashing all the ingredients in a mortar . Add a little fish stock and pour the minced meat into the cocotte . Let the whole thing cook covered over low heat for 5 more minutes. Rock the cocotte during cooking so that all the flavors mix well.

Le Creuset Evolution Low Saucepan Cocotte