Tagged With: Stew
Piment d’Espelette Fish Stew
This hearty stew hits it on all notes — the high acid of the tomatoes and wine play against the sweetness of the deeply caramelized onion and fennel, the brine-y olives render the seafood right at home, and the Piment d’ Espelette… oh, the Espelette! The perfect balance of heat and complexity that clarifies this bounty of flavor, and unites it all in delicious harmony. If my fish-monger has them, I’ll often throw in a few oily little fish, like fresh anchovies or sardines, too… Just sear them whole, skins and all, in a bit of olive oil and add to the serving dishes.
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Ingredients
Instructions
- Peel and de-vein the shrimp, placing the shells in a medium pot and reserving the de-veined shrimp in a bowl, tossing with half the ground fennel to coat. Use the remaining ground fennel to season the fish fillets, and set aside.
- Add the stock, water, clam juice, wine, bay leaf, lemon rind and allspice berries to the pot with the shrimp shells; bring to a boil, then reduce to medium-low heat and simmer for 20 minutes. Strain the broth through a wire strainer, discarding the shrimp shells and whole spices. Add potatoes to the broth, and simmer until fork-tender.
- Heat 1 tablespoon of the oil in a 4-quart soup pot over medium heat. Add the fennel, onion a pinch of salt and 1 tablespoon of the Piment d’ Espelette. Cook for 12 to 14 minutes, stirring a few times, until the vegetables are tender and golden. Deglaze with the tomatoes, add the garlic, and simmer until reduced by half.
- Add broth to tomato and vegetable mixture, adding in the olives and sun dried tomatoes, and season to taste with salt and fresh pepper. Keep hot over medium low heat.
- Heat the remaining 2 teaspoons of the oil and the butter in a saute pan over medium-high heat. Sear the fish until lightly browned, turning and cooking until just firm- do not overcook, as they will continue to cook in the hot broth when served. Transfer to a plate.
- Add the shrimp to the hot pan along with clams and/or mussels, along with a few generous ladles of broth, and cover tightly with a lid to steam open the bivalves.
- Place an equal portion of fish into serving bowls. Ladle the hot broth over the fish, garnishing each serving with shrimp, clams and mussels, chopped fennel fronds and a generous pinch of Piment d’ Espelette.
Piment d’Espelette
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Spice merchant Christmas is coming a little late this year, but it is well worth the wait! The current crop of Piment d’Espelette has arrived at our doorstep, ready to transform our soups, stews, rice pilafs, and most especially egg and fish dishes with its mild heat, and fruity, almost tomato-like flavor. A single sampling of this precious spice leaves no question as to why we are so excited by its arrival!
Piment d’Espelette (pepper of Espelette) originates in the area that joins the southwestern-most corner of France with northeastern Spain, a region historically known as Basque country. Piment d’ Espelette bears the distinction of being the only spice recognized by the AOC, or Appellation d’Origine Contrôlée. The AOC guarantees that products which bear its seal will be produced in traditional manners, and originate only from their traditional region (Champagne is a classic example). Therefore, only the superior pepper grown in the ten, tiny approved Basque villages may be labeled “Piment d’Espelette.”
Visits to this picturesque region in late summer and early fall yield visions of festoons of peppers, drying against white stucco houses as they have for centuries. Each October, the end of the Piment d’Espelette harvest is marked by a vibrant festival, complete with parade, that draws upwards of 20,000 tourists. There, the peppers are sold fresh, pickled, or dried and ground, as we carry it. At only 4,000 on the Scoville scale (as compared to 40,000 for Indian Cayenne), Piment d’Espelette’s mild flavor is the cornerstone of the traditional Basque stew piperade, a piquant concoction of peppers, tomatoes, onions, and on occasion, ham and eggs.
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In keeping with Basque tradition, we consume our Piment d’Espelette seasonally; making way for the new crop when it comes. The Basque have another tradition worth imitating- that of the txoko, or gastronomical society. Generations of Basques have gotten together to cook, sing, and experiment with food in thousands of private clubs. Pick up some of the freshest and most flavorful flakes of Piment d’Espelette available in the United States by the ounce, or sweetly packaged in a 1/2 ounce jar for your next txoko, or meeting of your foodie friends. On egin!
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Arabic Baharat Lamb Stew in Kabocha Squash
This recipe from our friends at Sunset breaks down the steps to sweet and savory success, using our Arabic Baharat. Don’t be concerned about tricky presentation. This lamb stew is delicious and easy to make.
This recipe from our friends at Sunset breaks down the steps to sweet and savory success.
Ingredients
Instructions
- Heat 1 tablespoon oil in 5- to 6-quart pan over high heat. Sprinkle lamb with 3/4 teaspoon salt and 1/4 teaspoon pepper. Brown lamb in heated oil, stirring occasionally, 6 to 8 minutes. Transfer lamb to a bowl and set aside.
- Reduce heat under pan to medium-high. Add 1 tablespoon oil, shallots and 1/4 cup broth to pan, and stir to loosen browned bits. Cook shallots, stirring occasionally, 7 to 10 minutes, until browned (add a splash of water if drippings start to darken).
- Return lamb to pan, sprinkle with Arabic Baharat, add 2 cups broth, and stir again. Cover pan and bring to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer 1 hour. (Add 1/4 cup broth if pan starts to dry). Stir in rice and tomatoes, and return to a boil while you prepare the squash.
- Preheat oven to 375°F. Use a short knife to carefully cut a 4-inch lid around squash stem, pry out with a blunt table knife, and scrape out seeds from squash and lid. Brush interior of squash and lid with remaning 1 tablespoon oil. Sprinkle interior of squash and lid with remaining 1/4 teaspoon each of salt and pepper (tip to coat evenly).Set squash on rimmed baking sheet, and print with a fork in a few spots near the top.
- Remove stew from heat, carefully fill squash to capacity, and set lid in place. Bake until just tender inside when pierced, 70 to 90 minutes. Spoon any remaining stew into loaf pan, cover and bake 1 hr.
- Stir chives into squash and loaf pan just before serving. Carefully transfer sqash to serving platter with two wide spatulas (but don't worry if some splitting occurs).
Notes
Recipe and photo from Sunset Magazine, October 2010.
