Suquet de Peix

suquet de peix

Suquet de Peix is a Catalan fish soup or stew, popular in Valencia and the Balearic Islands, as well as Cataluña. The word suquet comes from the verb suquejar to release or secrete juices and peix is Catalan for fish – so this can be interpreted as the fish releasing flavour into the soup. The recipe is comprised of a sofregit (slow cooked onions, tomato and garlic), potatoes, fish and a picada (a thickener). It may sound complicated, but in reality it’s quite simple.

Some say the dish was created in Empordà and others Tarragona, but since there’s no fixed recipe (that I can find) and as it’s a fisherman’s dish, it probably belongs to all those regions (which were once part of the Kingdom of Aragon). As with all these types of recipe, the fishermen would cook on the boat, in some kind of cauldron, using the unpopular fish or fish parts that they couldn’t sell. A typical recipe might contain escórpora (rascasse or scorpionfish), escarcho (gurnard), lubina (sea bass), dorada (sea bream) or rape (monkfish) – so the fish part could change from day to day.

I have no doubt that suquet de peix is a direct descendant of an Ancient Greek fisherman’s dish, which consisted of fish and saffron, cooked in a large metal pot over a fire. The Greeks colonised Empordà in the 6th Century BC and the Phoenicians probably founded Tarragona at around the same time. The Greeks and Phoenicians were trade partners during the Golden Age of Athens. Obviously the addition of potatoes, tomatoes and pimentón came much later, after Columbus discovered the Americas in 1492.

The price of fish has risen considerably over the last 20 years and monkfish (in particular) has become quite expensive – a far cry from the days when it’s ugly face put customers off. In the Boqueria, monkfish is still displayed head on, but in the UK one generally just sees the tail. So going with the spirit of fishermen from another age, I’ve used hake, also very popular in Spain. It’s still reasonably priced and has the firm white flesh required for a soup or stew – it won’t fall apart when cooked.

llobarro

Rascasse and other Mediterranean rock fish can be hard to source here and expensive relative to availability, so I recommend making a good fish stock to beef up the fish flavour. This week the fishmonger gave me the head and bones of a large sea bass and I augmented that with the bones of a cooked sea bream from the night before. In general I make my stock based on the following recipe. Do use the heads and shells of prawns or similar crustaceans if they are available.

Fish Stock:

3 fish heads and bones
1 onion (roughly chopped)
6 cloves garlic
2 carrots (quartered)
2 sticks celery (quartered)
a large tomato (quartered)
2 bay leaves
a teaspoon of fennel seeds
a few sprigs thyme
a handful of fresh parsley
a level teaspoon black peppercorns
sea salt (to taste)
a glass of white wine
2 pints water
extra virgin olive oil

brou de peix

Brown the fish, pour on the wine, add the vegetables, herbs and water. Bring to a simmer skim off any foam and cook gently for 30 minutes. Allow to cool and strain.

Suquet de Peix:

3 hake steaks
6 large raw prawns
1 large onion (chopped)
500g potatoes, (peeled and sliced thick)
3 large tomatoes (grated)
6 cloves garlic (finely chopped)
1 1/2 – 2 pints home made fish stock
a glass of dry white wine
1 teaspoon pimentón de la Vera dulce
a pinch of saffron
a dessertspoon plain flour
extra virgin olive oil
sea salt and cracked black pepper to taste
a teaspoon of fresh parsley (chopped) for decoration

Salt the hake 30 minutes to an hour before cooking – this firms up the flesh.

ceba

Start by cooking the sofregit – slowly cook the onions until they become soft and sticky.

tomàquet

Grate 3 tomatoes (cut them in half, shred the wet side and throw away the skin) into the onions.

sofregit

Stir in the garlic,

pebre vermell de la vera dolça

followed by a teaspoon of pimentón de la Vera dulce (the mild one).

patates a rodanxes

Arrange the potatoes on top of the sofregit.

patates i brou de peix

Pour on the wine and 1 1/2 pints of fish stock (to cover), then cook the potatoes for 15 – 20 minutes, until tender.

lluç

Dust the hake with seasoned flour and add it to the suquet – cook for 8 – 10 minutes – the beauty of using a firm fleshed fish is that timing is not too critical.

lluç amb gambes crues

Turn the hake steaks over to cook all the way through.

safrà

At this point add the raw prawns and saffron (grind a large pinch of saffron with a mortar and pestle and pour on a small amount of boiling water – this helps in diffusing the saffron throughout the suquet).

lluç amb gambes

When the prawns change colour, the suquet is ready for the picada.

Picada:

10 toasted almonds
2 large cloves garlic (chopped)
a dessertspoon parsley (chopped)
a slice of fried sourdough bread
2 teaspoons sherry vinegar (if necessary, substitute balsamic or red wine vinegar)
3 dessertspoons cooking liquid

almendras

Prepare the picada in advance. Toast some almonds in a frying pan. Follow this by frying a slice of stale sourdough bread – toasting it is also acceptable.

picada

Grind the almonds, garlic, fried bread, and parsley with a mortar and pestle and then add the sherry vinegar. When the fish is ready, mix in 3 dessertspoons of the cooking liquid.

espessidor

Stir the picada into the suquet to thicken and enhance the flavour.

suquet

Sprinkle on chopped parsley to garnish.

allioli

Serve with home made allioli and pan con tomate. The hake was delicate and the broth tasted sublime. I recommend drinking a glass or two of Benufet Garnatxa Blanca (from Herència Altes) with the suquet de peix.