Catalan-Style Seafood Stew

By Rose HattabaughJanuary 11, 2022

Makes
4 servings
Cook Time
55 minutes

The Catalan fish stew called suquet de peix traditionally is cooked in a cazuela, a wide, shallow terracotta dish, but a 12-inch skillet is a great alternative and what we use in this recipe. A combination of shrimp, mussels and flaky white fish in a saffron-scented tomato broth yields a dish full of color, shapes and texture. In the Catalan kitchen, picada refers to a mixture of nuts, garlic, bread and, often, other aromatic ingredients—from herbs to chilies, and even cooked chicken livers—pounded or ground to a thick paste. It’s used to add flavor to dishes of all sorts, or stirred into stews at the end of cooking to enrich and thicken the broth. We make a simple picada and hand-chop the ingredients, though you could bash the ingredients in a mortar with a pestle. Serve directly from the skillet, with warm, crusty bread for soaking up the broth.

Tip

Don’t use a lower-starch potato in place of the russet. The russet, cut into thin slices, cooks quickly and releases starch that adds a little body to the broth.

Ingredients

¼
cup slivered almonds
4
tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, divided
5
medium garlic cloves, thinly sliced
1
ounce crusty bread, torn into ½-inch bits (about 1 cup)
1
medium yellow onion, halved and thinly sliced
14 ½
ounce can whole peeled tomatoes, crushed by hand
8
ounce russet potato, unpeeled, halved lengthwise and cut crosswise into ¼-inch slices
¼
teaspoon saffron threads
Kosher salt and ground black pepper
1
pound mussels, scrubbed
8
ounces extra-large shrimp (21/25 per pound), peeled and deveined
2
5- to 6-ounce cod or haddock fillets, about 1 inch thick, each cut in half

Step 1

In a 12-inch skillet over medium, toast the almonds, stirring often, until lightly browned and fragrant, 2 to 3 minutes; transfer to a small bowl.

In the same skillet over medium, heat 2 tablespoons oil until shimmering. Add half of the garlic and cook, stirring, until just beginning to brown, about 1 minute.

Using a slotted spoon, transfer the garlic to the bowl with the almonds. Return the skillet to medium and add the bread. Cook, tossing often, until browned in spots, about 3 minutes.

Transfer to the bowl with the almonds and garlic; set aside.

Step 2

In the same skillet over medium, heat the remaining 2 tablespoons oil until shimmering. Add the onion and cook, stirring occasionally, until lightly browned, 5 to 6 minutes.

Add the remaining garlic and cook, stirring, until fragrant, about 30 seconds.

Add the tomatoes with juices. Stir in the potato, 1½ cups water, the saffron, 1 teaspoon salt and ½ teaspoon pepper. Bring to a simmer over medium-high, then cover, reduce to medium-low and simmer, stirring occasionally, until a skewer inserted into the slices meets no resistance, 12 to 15 minutes.

Meanwhile, finely chop the almond-garlic-bread mixture; set aside.

Step 3

When the potatoes are tender, stir in the almond mixture. Add the mussels, increase to medium and stir to combine. Cover and cook until the mussels begin to open, about 2 minutes.

Stir in the shrimp, then, using a spoon, create 4 wells in the mixture. Nestle a piece of fish into each clearing, cover and cook, stirring gently only once or twice, until the shrimp are opaque throughout, the fish flakes easily and the mussels have fully opened, 6 to 8 minutes; discard any mussels that have not opened.