Sicilian-Style Fish Stew - Zuppa di Mare

Hey, what can I say? I got inspired by being in Sicily and decided to come up with somewhat of an homage to the food we had there. Vanessa has been sick the past few days and the weather here in the UK is (predictably!) crap. So a good spicy, hearty stew seemed the way to go. So here is my own version of a Sicilian-style seafood stew.

8 tomatoes, cut into quarters, seeds removed
2 tablespoons olive oil
6 raw jumbo shrimp, shells, tails and head reserved, deveined
1 tablespoon tomato puree
6 cups water
4 stalks parsley
10 peppercorns
2 bay leaf
½ teaspoon paprika
1 lemon , zest then slice lemon itself
3 tablespoons olive oil
1 cup onion, chopped
3 cloves garlic, minced
2 red chili, sliced in half lengthwise, then sliced finely
1 potato , skinned, diced
1 tablespoon tomato puree
1 cup vermouth
½ teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon pepper
1 can chopped tomatoes
½ teaspoon paprika
300 g monkfish tail, sliced into bite-sized chunks
6 squid, small, cut into rings, tentacles reserved
¼ cup parsley, chopped

First, roast the tomatoes. Preheat the broiler on high. Meanwhile, cut the tomatoes into quarters and cut out the seedy middles. Lay them down on some foil on a baking sheet which has been drizzled with some olive oil. Drizzle some more oil over the top and sprinkle with some salt and pepper. Put under the hot broiler for 10-15 minutes, or until you get a good degree of charring on the skins. Pull the sheet out of the oven and peel the skins off of the tomatoes when cool enough to do so. Discard the skins and set the tomatoes aside.

Now, make the shellfish stock. In a medium sized saucepan, drizzle the olive oil in there and get it hot under medium-high heat. When the oil is hot, put the heads, tails and shells in the oil and keep stirring them around, watching as they go pink and smelling as they release their juices. After 5-8 minutes of this, add the tomato puree and stir through to combine thoroughly. Let the puree get dark and start to smell sweet, about a minute. Add the water, parsley, peppercorns, bay leaves, paprika, lemon zest, and lemon slices to the pot. Heat until it looks like it is ready to start boiling and drop the heat to low, simmering for 30 minutes, skimming any scum that rises to the surface. When it's done, strain through a sieve and set aside.

In a large pot, heat olive oil over medium heat for a few minutes until it's hot. Add the onion, garlic and chilies together and saute until the onions soften, about 5 minutes. Add the potato and saute everything together for another minute, Add the tomato puree, stir to coat and allow it to sweeten and get dark (as you did with the stock). Add the vermouth (or dry white wine) and crank the heat up to medium-high. Scrape the bottom of the pan to loosen any bits up with a wooden spoon. Let the vermouth cook down until almost fully evaporated, and then add the roasted tomatoes and the canned tomatoes. Let this start to bubble, stirring through a few times along the way. Add the stock from earlier, some salt and pepper and the paprika. Bring to a boil, then drop the heat to low and simmer for awhile (an hour or more) to let the stew base thicken somewhat until it reaches your desired thickness.

Turn the heat up to medium and immediately add the monkfish and allow it to cook, about 3 minutes. Next add the squid parts and and shrimp and allow it to just cook through, about 2 minutes, or until the shrimp have curled up and gone pink. Lastly, add the parsley and stir through. Check the seasoning and give a taste to each of the seafood types to check for consistency and doneness. Ladle into soup bowls. Serve hot with crusty bread.