Kilt in the Kitchen & COVID-19 coronavirus Part II

I feel a little embarrassed about this post. I promised yesterday another post inspired, if that’s the right word, but the COVID-19 situation. As I intended I make a couple of delicious hearty soups that I portioned and put in the freezer but I also completely forgot to take any pictures. That delicious looking stew to the left is the closest I could come to finding a version of somebody else’s fish stew that looked like mine, but there are some differences and I don’t have a white pot.

Right now, though, my stew looks like this. I guess you’ll just have to trust me.

The recipe is adapted from Clifford A. Wright’s Real Stew. The book is a very interesting collection of stews from around the world that I frequently use as a source. The recipe comes from the Huelva province in Andalusia, but it is another version of a family of stews that consist of mixed seafood in a vegetable base, probably with tomatoes. Cioppino and bouillabaisse are other examples.

The first step is to prepare all the vegetables and to dump them into a dutch oven or stock pot, add the water, wine, and spices, and then top with oil. Bring to a fast simmer, then reduce the heat to simmer and cook until the potatoes are soft – about 30 minutes. What are those vegetables? and spices?

Wright’s recipe calls for lupine beans, potatoes, green bell peppers, tomatoes, onions, and garlic. The potatoes and peppers are cut into pieces the size of the beans, and the onions roughly chopped.

I also vary the beans and potatoes. The first time I made this I couldn’t find lupine beans (that’s because I didn’t know where to look – my favorite Italian import store has several varieties but neither of my grocery store knew what I was talking about) and substituted garbanzo beans. It turned out just fine and since them I’ve used lupine beans, garbanzos, navy beans, a mixture of black and kidney beans, and so on. As long as the combination of beans and potatoes are between 2 and 2 1/2 pounds, you’ll be fine.

I also like to mix up the peppers, using different colors. After cooking for an hour or so I’m not sure that the color of the peppers has an effect on their taste.

Finally, the recipe calls for 1/2 lb of tomatoes to be grated with seeds removed. I’ve done that, but I’ve also tossed in a couple of 14oz cans of diced tomatoes and that works great too.

The spices are interesting too. The nutmeg and smoked paprika both add warmth but from totally different directions. As with many recipes, I use significantly more spices than the original. You may wish to dial it back a bit, but that’s up to you.

In the first 30-45 minutes, the potatoes, peppers, the rest of the veggies cook while creating a rich stock. While all that’s happening, you can start preparing the fish. Mostly what I use are white fishes that flake apart when cooking. Shrimp, scallops, and mussels would be OK too but I really prefer the fish. Yesterday I used cod and tilapia but I’ve also used swordfish, barramundi, black cod, sea bass, hake, and others I’ve forgotten about.

The process is to lightly cover the fish with flour. When the potatoes are done, take each filet and gently push it into the stew until submerged and then simmer for another 20-30 minutes. The fish will cook through and will easily break up when pushed with a spoon.That second simmering period also adds some fish flavoring to the broth.

The other soup I made yesterday was a simple vegetable soup but it is totally delicious and, as with the fish stew, I forgot to take a picture. I feel like such an idiot.

I used the word “vegetable” deliberately because it isn’t vegetarian or vegan. You could make it vegan, I suppose, by substituting olive oil for bacon, but I’m not going there. If you want to try it, let us know how it worked out.

This couldn’t be simpler. Take appropriate amounts of carrots, celery root, turnip, fennel, potatoes, and parsnip and cut into 1/4″ dice. Take two leeks and cut into thin cross-wise strips. Roughly chop an onion. Now the cooking begins.

Take about 2 oz of lardons, thick cut bacon, or guanciale and cut into a fine dice. Cook over medium-low heat until the fat renders out and the remaining pieces crisp up. Remove the pieces with a slotted spoon and set aside. Add the onions and leeks to the fat, stir to cover the vegetables with the bacon fat until they begin to soften. Add the other vegetables, cover with water, bring to a brisk simmer and then reduce the heat, cover partially and go away for a half-hour. When the potatoes and turnips are soft, check for seasoning and don’t be afraid to add lots of freshly ground black pepper. Put the bits of bacon (or lardons or guanciale or whatever) back in and that’s it.

The different vegetables all release flavors into the broth that are bound together by the fat and the end results have such a strong, hearty flavor and wonderful mouth feel it comes as a surprise that there’s no actual protein in the dish. I’ve been having this soup all winter for lunch and have loved it.

Like the stew, I separated this into 16 oz portions and I now have ten bags of frozen soup that I know are nourishing, delicious, and healthy in the event that I can’t cook or the stores are closed. Much better than a pantry full of cans of soup.

Recipes

Fish Stew from Andalusia

Ingredients

2 lbs of a mixture of beans and potatoes cut in 1/4″ dice

1 green bell pepper, seeded and chopped

2 14oz cans diced tomatoes

1 medium onion, roughly chopped

1 garlic cloves, minced

2 bay leaves

1 cup white wine

1 cup water

1 tbl smoked paprika

1/2 tsp ground or grated nutmeg

salt and black pepper to taste

1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil

2 lbs flaky white fish

flour

Directions

After preparing all the vegetables, add all ingredients except fish and flour to a dutch oven or stock pot. Bring to a brisk simmer and then reduce heat, cover, and simmer until potatoes are almost done – about 30 minutes.

Flour the fish without breaking up the filets.

When the first simmer is done, take the filets and gently push them into the stew until completely submerged. Simmer for another 20-30 minutes until the fish is done. Break up the filets with a spoon or spatula and check for seasonings.

Winter Vegetable Stew

Ingredients

1 medium onion roughly chopped

2 medium potatoes, peeled and cut into 1/4″ dice

3 medium leeks, white and light green parts thinly sliced and washed

3 large carrots cut into 1/4″ dice

3 medium parsnips peeled and cut into 1/4″ dice

2 medium turnips peeled and cut into 1/4″ dice

1 small celery root peeled and cut into 1/4″ dice

1 small fennel bulb cut into 1/4″ dice

2 garlic cloves minced

2 oz lardons, thickly cut bacon, or guanciale cut into small dice

6 cups water

3 tbl extra virgin olive oil

salt and pepper

Directions

Render the fat from the bacon, guanciale, or lardons, removing and setting aside the pieces when crisp

Add the onions, leeks, and garlic and stir to cover with the rendered fat. Cook until the vegetables begin to soften, then add the remaining vegetables, oil, and water.

Bring to a boil then partially cover, reduce the heat to a simmer, and cook until the potatoes and turnips are soft, about 30-45 minutes. Check for seasoning, using a liberal amount of black pepper.