Jan 10
Fish, seafood & shellfish | Traditional Spanish Recipes
Suquet de Rap
Suquet de Rap means Monkfish soupy dish in Catalan. It has fresh Monkfish, Potatoes, clams and a Picada, this last food preparation is so typical from Catalonia… it’s like our mark in terms of Cuisine. This dish has a seaman’s origin… and you might be wondering… really? A Fish dish has its origin in the sea? Lol! Yes it is that obvious, but also it is that delicious. As most of our traditional dishes, it has a humble start… first hand ingredients make a quick delicious meal to prepare on board. Nowadays is not considered humble at all… it’s one of the best dishes you can present to your guests!
Just make sure you bought enough bread when you prepare this dish, one of the best parts is when you finished with the monkfish and potatoes and want to leave the plate clean ;D. Another great option would be to smash the potatoes in the soup so that they get all that wonderful juice in them… Ay que bueno!!! This is an exceptional dish to prepare for Christmas or any other festivity and it will allow you to eat it with the family. If you prepare it in advance (in the morning for example) and have it for lunch, all the ingredients will have been soaking in the flavorful soup and its taste will be a thousand times better!
Suquet de Rap is not a difficult recipe, but it asks for fresh ingredients. Please don’t buy the clams in a package or the monkfish in the supermarket… go to the fishmonger :D. Ask him/her to remove the spine and the skin and get the meat cut in dices. Use the bone and head and spine to prepare the fish stock. Have the clams in a bowl with water and salt to let them leave the sand in there.
Monkfish is a fantastic choice for kids because it has nearly no fishbones and the meat is so delicious and tasty.
Recipe
Ingredients for 4 servings: 600 grams of fresh monkfish (head and spine don't count), 4 medium potatoes, 3 medium onions, 2 ripe tomatoes (or canned 4 tablespoons), black ground pepper, 1/2 cup of white dry wine, flour to coat the fish, olive oil, 1/2 teaspoon of sweet ground paprika, some saffron threads, 200 grams of fresh clams, 3 garlic cloves, 100 grs of toasted and peeled almonds, 1 slice of toasted bread and salt.
- Place the clams inside a bowl with fresh water and salt. Prepare a fish stock with the fish spine bone, the head and 1 onion. When it starts boiling take the foam away. Let it simmer for 1/2 hour, strain and reserve.
- Cut the fish in dices (or ask your fishmonger to prepare it that way for you). Clean the monkfish under the tap water and dry with kitchen paper. Season the fish with salt and ground black pepper. Coat in flour and fry inside a big casserole with some olive oil. When it goldens up, place on kitchen paper so that it leave there the oil.
- Cut and peel the onions in small dices. Peel two garlic cloves and cut in small pieces. Grate the tomatoes. In the same casserole, fry the onion at low heat, when transparent add the garlic and when smells add the tomato. Stir and fry at low heat for 10 minutes aprox.
- Add the paprika and the saffron (if you think these two ingredients are too strong for your taste, just skip this step).
- Pour the wine and stir while it evaporates. Pour 1 liter of the monkfish stock and let it simmer for 10 minutes.
- Peel the potatoes, cut and let them cook for 15 minutes. Meanwhile, prepare the picada: Place inside the mortar the garlic you have left, the toasted bread and the almonds; smash everything until you get a paste and pour inside the casserole together with the monkfish. Stir it all and simmer for 5 more minutes.
- Place the clams in the casserole now and cook until they open.
- Let the dish rest for 5 minutes with the lid on and serve hot.
- To thicken the soup you can pick the monkfish, clams and most of the potatoes and set aside inside another casserole or a big serving bowl. Then blend the two or three potatoes left with the sauce and pour over the main ingredients.
- Enjoy!!!!
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Comments
It sounds incredibly delicious Nuria. How I wish of the warm sunshine and a place by the ocean with a seafood dish at my table.
Happy new Year Val!!! One day you will cross that Ocean and I will prepare it for you ;D
Monkfish is the poor man’s lobster. and while they might well enjoy it, this dish is far too good to feed children with! I’m sure it’ll sound weird, to you but I love the abruptness of Catalan. It must be all the consonants at the ends of words, but it somehow crackles in the ears. Suquet de rap. Strange really, because this dish must be so luxuriously soft in the mouth.