Provençal Fish Stew

- Total Time
- 30 minutes
- Rating
- Comments
- Read comments
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Ingredients
- 1cup cooked or canned chickpeas
- 4tablespoons olive oil
- 1cup fresh bread crumbs
- Salt and ground black pepper
- 1tablespoon minced garlic
- ¼cup niçoise or oil-cured olives, pitted and chopped
- 1tablespoon capers, chopped
- 2 or 3anchovy fillets, finely chopped
- 2tablespoons tomato paste
- 1pound spinach
- 2cups fish or vegetable stock, or water
- Pinch red chile flakes (optional)
- 8ounces squid, roughly chopped
- 8ounces shrimp, roughly chopped
Preparation
- Step 1
Drain chickpeas. If you used dried, reserve cooking liquid; if they are canned, discard the liquid and rinse the chickpeas. Put 2 tablespoons oil in a large skillet over medium heat. When it’s hot, add bread crumbs, sprinkle with salt and pepper and cook, stirring frequently, until they’re crisp and toasted, 3 to 5 minutes. Remove from pan.
- Step 2
Add the remaining 2 tablespoons oil to the skillet; increase heat to medium-high. When oil is hot, add garlic, olives, capers and anchovies. Cook, stirring occasionally, until fragrant, a minute or two. Add tomato paste and cook, stirring occasionally, until it darkens slightly, 2 to 3 minutes.
- Step 3
Start adding spinach a handful at a time; keep stirring until all the spinach fits in the pan and starts to release its water; sprinkle with a little more pepper, then add the stock, chickpeas and red chile flakes if you’re using them. Adjust the heat so the mixture bubbles gently but steadily, then stir in the squid and the shrimp. Cook until the seafood is just cooked through, 2 to 3 minutes.
- Step 4
Taste and adjust the seasoning. Divide among bowls, sprinkle with bread crumbs and serve.
Private Notes
Comments
This is a wonderful recipe. After making this dish many times, I have settled upon an additional 8 ounces of cubed cod or turbot and cut the amount of spinach to 1/2 lb.
My wife isn't a big fan of chic peas, so I substituted cannelini beans and added some fresh clams. Toasted baguette slices to soak up the broth and a good wine and life was good.
Doubled the recipe. Several problems. 1) Bread crumbs absorbed almost all the broth. It was fish in sludge 2) Provencal flavors were virtually undetectable. Needed double the olives, capers, anchovies and garlic. And sun-dried tomatoes would help. 3) A half cup of white wine in the broth or a slug of Pernod in the finished dish would help conjure aromas of Marseille. Next time half the bread crumbs, or none at all.
Any suggestions of substitutions for squid?
This soup is so simple, so fast, and yet so fantastically flavorful! It's also really versatile, I've made it using chickpeas and canellini beans, shrimp and calamari but alsojust cubes of white fish. It works everytime. Def. a keeper.
This was pretty good, made with a few tweaks based on preference. Used somewhat less than a full cup of crumbs (no sludge), the full amount of spinach. 3 cups of homemade shrimp stock, bit of white wine. Used Great Northern instead of chickpeas - seemed more 'Mediterranean'. Skipped squid, used shrimp, seafood medley pack, cubed mahi and cod. Guess I wasn't buying into the more vegetables, less fish line. Briny clams casino was a great starter!
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