CATALAN SEAFOOD STEW

By polloazul

The stew should be juicy (“suquet,” in Catalan)—not too soupy, not too thick—cooked with just enough liquid to cover the ingredients.

Ingredients

• FOR PICADA
• 2 dried ñora peppers, wiped clean
• 2 tablespoons hazelnuts, toasted and most of skins rubbed off in a kitchen towel while warm
• 2 tablespoons blanched almonds, toasted
• 2 garlic cloves
• 1/4 teaspoon saffron threads, crumbled
• FOR STEW
• 2 lb medium tomatoes
• 1 1/2 lb Yukon Gold potatoes
• 3/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
• 3 garlic cloves, minced
• 1/3 cup finely chopped flat-leaf parsley
• 1/2 cup dry white wine
• 4 cups fish stock
• 2 teaspoons paprika (not hot; preferably Spanish)
• 12 small hard-shelled clams (about 2 inches across), scrubbed
• 1 lb cultivated mussels
• 3/4 lb hake or Pacific cod fillet with skin, cut into 2-inch pieces
• 3/4 lb large shrimp, peeled
• EQUIPMENT: a mortar and pestle

Preparation

Step 1

MAKE PICADA:
Soak peppers in boiling-hot water (weight with a plate if they float) until softened, about 45 minutes. Discard stems and tear open peppers, then dip in soaking water to remove seeds. Scrape flesh from skin with a small sharp knife (discard skin).
Pound nuts with garlic to a smooth paste using mortar and pestle. Add saffron, then add peppers and grind to a paste.

MAKE STEW:
Cut an X in bottom of each tomato and blanch in a large pot of boiling water 30 seconds, then peel, seed, and chop.
Peel potatoes and cut into 1/3-inch-thick slices. Break slices into 1-inch pieces.
Heat 1/2 cup oil in a 12-inch nonstick skillet over medium-high heat until hot, then cook potatoes, stirring occasionally, until pale golden, 8 to 10 minutes.
Cook garlic with parsley in remaining 1/4 cup oil in a wide 6- to 8-quart heavy pot over medium heat, stirring, until fragrant.
Stir in tomatoes and wine and briskly simmer 1 minute. Add potatoes with a slotted spoon, then add stock and simmer, covered, 10 minutes. Increase heat to high.
Thin picada with some liquid from pot, then add to pot with paprika and 1 teaspoon salt. Cook until broth is slightly thickened, 3 to 5 minutes. Add clams and cook, covered, until they start to open, 3 to 7 minutes.
Add mussels. Toss hake and shrimp with 1/4 teaspoon salt and add to stew. Cook, covered, until shells open wide and hake and shrimp are cooked, 4 to 8 minutes; discard unopened shellfish.