Brudet od miješane ribe
Dalmatian mixed fish stew — onion, garlic, tomato and white wine, simmered gently so the fish stays whole.
- Prep
- 25 min
- Cook
- 40 min
- Total
- 1 hr 5 min
- Serves
- 4
Ingredients
- 1 kg mixed fish, cleaned and cut into thick pieces (e.g. scorpion fish, monkfish, conger, gurnard, John Dory)
- 4 tbsp olive oil
- 2 medium onions, finely sliced
- 4 cloves garlic, minced
- 2 tbsp tomato paste
- 400 g ripe tomatoes, peeled and chopped (or a tin of chopped tomatoes)
- 150 ml dry white wine
- 1 bay leaf
- 1 small bunch parsley, chopped
- 150 ml fish stock or water
- Salt and black pepper
- Polenta or crusty bread, to serve
Method
- Salt the fish lightly and leave it at room temperature while you start the base.
- Heat the olive oil in a wide heavy pan over medium heat. Soften the onions for 10–12 minutes until golden and sweet, then add the garlic for one minute.
- Stir in the tomato paste and cook for 2 minutes. Add the wine and let it bubble down by half.
- Add the tomatoes, bay leaf, half the parsley and the stock. Simmer gently for 15 minutes until the sauce thickens.
- Lay the firmest fish in first (conger, monkfish, scorpion fish) and cook for 8 minutes, then add the more delicate pieces and cook for another 6–8 minutes.
- Do not stir with a spoon. Shake the pan now and then so the fish does not break up, and spoon the sauce over it if it looks dry.
- Season, scatter the remaining parsley, rest for 5 minutes and serve with polenta or bread.
Brudet is better the more kinds of fish go into it, because each gives something different to the sauce. Ask the fishmonger for a mix and for the heads and bones, and simmer them in the stock if you have the time. It is even better the next day.