SUPERIOR FISH STEWS
We travel extensively and adore fish stews during the cooler months, so my wife and I have collected recipes from all over the world. Here are just a few.
Stewed fillet of Fish on a Potato and Onion Bed
This comes from the excellent Hotel Cala de Volpe on the most scenic Costa Smeralda where you can dine with a wonderful water view after a day spent on the beach, sailing or simply wandering about. We like this dish best in the winter as it can be prepared ahead and popped into the oven an hour before dinner.
2 trout -- about a pound each 4 potatoes, sliced a quarter inch thick 2 white onions julienned 2 ripe tomatoes, peeled if you're fancy, and diced in any case. 1 leek cut in ½ inch slices ¼ cup parsley 8 basil leaves ½ teaspoon marjoram 1 cup white wine 3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil 1 Bay leaf 2 cloves garlic, crushed 1 ½ quarts water salt and pepper to taste
Clean the fish reserve fillets, heads and bones. In a skillet, brown the leek, garlic and ¼ onion in a tablespoon of olive oil. Add the fish heads and bones and pour in the wine. Add one tomato, the bay leaf and the water. Bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer for an hour. Season with salt and strain out the bones et al. (Can be done ahead.)
Brown the remaining onions in a tablespoon of olive oil.. Arrange potato slices and onions in ovenware and add the marjoram. Season fish fillets with salt and pepper and place them on top of the potatoes. Add cooking stock, cover with foil and cook until ingredients bake at medium heat for about 30 to 40 minutes.
Serve the fish topped with basil leaves along with the parsley. Dress the plates with the rest of the tomato and sprinkle on olive oil. We like to side this with both green and black Sardinian or Greek Olives. If you wish, remove the foil early, sprinkle on a quarter cup of grated white cheese - your choice - and brown under the broiler before serving.
Gazpachuelo Malagueno
We both ate far too much at the wonderful breakfast buffets in the classic Palace Hotel in Madrid, and enjoyed a wonderful duck dinner on a special night. It is a good thing that the Prado is so big, as we ate so much of the soup that I had to pass desert, and that only happens once a year!
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