Operetta

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

As with all fish dishes, the key is not to overcook it, 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 prepared and all the pots and pans clean and put away. Another point in favor to take into account this dish on our Three Kings menu!

To cook the zarzuela I used my low Le Creuset cocotte . Apart from being perfect for these preparations, I find it ideal to serve on the table . Have you seen how good it looks when serving?

Evolution Le Creuset Low Casserole Cocotte

Ingredients for 4 people)

• 400g of monkfish
• 1 golden
• 1 squid
• 4 crayfish
• 8 shrimp
• 16 mussels
• 250g of clams
• 5 pear tomatoes
• 2 onions
• 500ml 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 fumet:

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

Elaboration

From the fish stew

1. Put all the ingredients for the fumet in a pot .
2. Let it brew for 30 minutes. Remove it from the heat and let it rest for 30 more minutes.
3. Strain it and reserve it.

From the zarzuela

1. Clean fish and seafood: I like to trim the mustaches off the shrimp with scissors so I don't find them at mealtime. Clean the shells of the mussels and soak the clams in salt water. Cut the squid into thin rings. Cut the monkfish into slices. Remove the fillets from the sea bream. Split the sea bream fillets in two. You can use the scrape and head of the sea bream 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 do not have meat or those that have not opened and put the rest in the low cocotte .
3. Salt all the fish and flour the sea bream, monkfish and squid.
4. In adeep frying pan , add a splash of olive oil and sauté the crayfish and shrimp. One minute on each side will be enough. 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 sauté for about 10 minutes. The sauce must be well concentrated.
7. Add the fish broth to the pan and let it cook for 20 minutes. Adjust salt.
8. Pass the sauce through a sieve to make it finer and pour it into the low cocotte over the fish. Add the drained clams to the cocotte, put it on the heat with the lid on and let it cook over low heat for 10 minutes.
9. Prepare the mince by mashing all the ingredients in a mortar . Add a little fish fumet and pour the minced meat into the cocotte . Let the whole thing cook, covered, over low heat for 5 more minutes. Shake the cocotte during cooking so that all the flavors mix well.

Evolution Le Creuset Low Casserole Cocotte