Frutos del Mar
Wandering into a beachside restaurant late one afternoon, we were warmly welcomed by the owner who it transpired seemed to think menus were somewhat superfluous. After a few drinks, and certainly without any food being ordered, he brought out a pan of seafood that I still think about now. Clams, mussels, prawns — everything drenched in olive oil, garlic and wine, finished with lemons that must have been picked in the morning.
This version isn’t quite the same but it captures the feeling. The sea salt in the capers. The sweetness of fresh, plump prawns. Its also the obvious thing to bring and share with friends at a summer(y) dinner party. Simple, bright, and full of memory — even if most of this was made up just for the evening!
Ingredients
- 400g bag of mixed seafood (raw mix of peeled king prawns, mussel meat squid rings, octopus, crab, cuttlefish)
- 300g raw squid rings
- 300g cooked king prawns
- 200g – half shell clams
- teaspoon dried & salted capers
- 5 cloves garlic, sliced
- 2 mild chillies, sliced
- 2-3 lemons
- Bunch (80g) parsley
- 3/4lb butter, salted
Feeds 8 for starter
Method
Prepare the Lemons: Cut the lemons into half, and half (and if large, half again) and baked the them with a generous splash of olive oil for 25 minutes. You could use some of the butter here, but ensure you add at least some olive oil to save the butter from burning.
Cooking the lemons is mainly for looks and colour, but it does help to soften the flesh, which is beneficial when eating the final dish. When cooked, leave to one side to cool
Prepare the Sauce: Take about 100g butter and gently cook the sliced garlic cloves, chillies, and a decent teaspoon of dried / salted capers for 10 or so minutes. Add the salt as well as the capers, as this will help season the final dish. Its unlikely you will add to much, but do be sensible here!
When softened, chop the parsley finely, add to the mix and incorporate. Then, like the lemons, put to one side and leave to cool
Prepare the Sea Food: Deglaze and defrost as necessary, ensure they are fully defrosted before use. This is beneficial as it will reduce the wateriness of the final dish and ultimately reduce cooking time. Some seafood mixes are more ‘generous’ than others, so the need to add with additional prawns, squid rings and clams is reduced. For 8, i try to end up with 1kg of deglazed and defrosted fish.
When fully defrosted, and ideally gently dried, you are ready to assemble the dish
Assembly: To assemble the dish, mix the sauce with the sea food, and put into an ovenware pot, or in this case, Cazuela. Add the pieces of lemon strategically, and spike the overall dish with lumps of butter. Once complete, the dish is ready to cook.
You could prepare this early and leave it to marinate, though i would try to cook and eat it on the same day.
Cooking Time: 25-30 mins
Serve with: Crusty Bread, good friends and an abundance of wine.
Notes
Does using a Cazuela make any difference, or is it just eye candy?
It doesn’t makes a huge difference, but I do think people eat with their eyes first. A terracotta cazuela may warm slightly more slowly, so make a small adjustment for that.
Could you make this into a main?
Adding pasta (linguine, spaghetti), reducing butter content and adding some passata would make this a very luxurious main! Alternatively replace the passata with mushrooms (español: hongas/setas) for an equally decadent experience.