Assorted Baked Shellfish - (Mariscada a La Marinera)

Yield > 6
Keys : Clams Mussels Crayfish Fish Ocean Seafood Spanish Spain
European Mediterranean Spanish
Ingredients :
6 x Crayfish
12 x Prawns
30 x Mussels cleaned
6 sm Squid cleaned
12 slc Two kinds of firm white
fish center slices
(halibut, haddock, sea
bass)
1/2 cup Olive oil
1 med Onion minced
3/4 cup Canned tomatoes forced
through sieve
4 doz Toasted hazelnuts peeled
3 sm Garlic cloves peeled
3 sprg Fresh parsley
10 dsh Absinthe or anise flavored
liqueur
(or a pinch of aniseed)
1 1/2 x to 2 1/2 cups Water
1/2 tsp Ground white pepper or
more to taste
Salt to taste
Method :
• Cut squid in rings. Open mussels by shaking them in a
pan over moderate heat. Strain juice through a kitchen towel
for use in sauce. Wash crayfish and prawns, but do dot peel.
• Brown onions slowly in olive oil. Increase heat, add
tomato, and let it cook 1 minute. Season with pepper. Add
slices of fish with squid cut in rings. Spoon sauce over them
and let them cook over a rather hot fire. In a mortar, crush the
hazelnuts with the garlic and parsley to a smooth paste (or mix
in an electric blender with 1/2 cup water). When the fish has
been cooking 4 to 5 minutes, turn it over. Season with salt.
Two minutes later, add the strained juice from the mussels, 1
cup cold water, and the prawns and crayfish. Cook 2 minutes
more. Add cooked mussels. Dilute contents of mortar with 1/2
cup water. Add to sauce in pan and stir. Add water if necessary
to prevent sauce from sticking to bottom of pan. When the
slices of fish are tender, remove them to a warmed serving
dish. Sprinkle liqueur over the sauce, stir it well over heat, and
pour the contents over the fish in the serving dish.
• Comments:
This recipe is a Catalan version of Zarzuela from Restaurante Pi
in Vendrell (Tarragona). The Basques also make Zarzuela, but
use cognac instead of absinthe and cayenne instead of ground
white pepper. Either version requires five or more varieties of
fish and shellfish. The dish is only good prepared and served at
once, but it can be made in 20 minutes, start to finish