BRODET: CROATIAN SEAFOOD STEW

Ingredients

Brodet

• ⅔ cup olive oil
• 1 heaping handful of fresh parsley (enough for 1 cup when chopped)
• 1 lemon, juiced
• 15 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 pound monkfish steaks (or similar denser, firmer, meatier fish)
• 1 pound rockfish steaks (or similar flavorful, flaky fish)
• 1 pound hamachi steaks (or similar oily, emulsifying fish)
• ½ pound raw medium-sized shrimp
• ½ pound of mussels, washed
• 2 onions, chopped
• 2 small leeks, the white and light green stalk parts halved and thinly sliced
• 2-3 fresh tomatoes, peeled and diced
• 3 tablespoons tomato paste
• 1 cup red wine, preferably a sweeter kind
• 1 tablespoon red wine vinegar
• 1 teaspoon dried chili flakes
• 2 bay leaves
• 3 stalks fresh rosemary, chopped
• 4 cups fish stock or water
• Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste

Polenta

• 2 cups water
• 2 cups fish broth
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 cup polenta
• 2 tablespoons butter
• 1 cup grated Parmesan or Asiago cheese (optional)
• Salt and pepper to taste

How to Make

Stage 1 - Marinate the Fish

1. In a food processor, combine your fresh parsley, ½ cup olive oil, 4 cloves of garlic and lemon juice together. What will come out is a thick and rich puree
2. In a large bowl, rub the puree into the fish, then place in the fridge and let marinate for at least 1 hour. You can't go wrong letting it marinate for longer, but 1 hour should be a good minimum

Stage 2 - Next, the Polenta

1. Take a saucepot with the water, fish broth and salt for the polenta and bring the liquid to a boil
2. Once boiling, add your polenta in and whisk vigorously through the water. Keep on high heat as the water begins to re-boil
3. Immediately once the pot has begun boiling again, turn down the heat of the stove to the lowest possible simmer or setting
4. Simmer the polenta for at least 45 minutes, whisking and mixing the polenta around as frequently as every 2-3 minutes

Stage 2 - First Part to the Brodet (But Keep Stirring the Polenta)

1. After about 15 minutes of just cooking the polenta would be a good time to start with the brodet. Start by taking a big soup pot and put over high heat with your remaining olive oil
2. Once the oil is hot, add your onion and the remaining 11 cloves of minced garlic. Sautee for 1 minute
3. Next, add the leeks and sautee for another 2 minutes as the leek and onion start to sweat and soften
4. As the leek and onion become gradually softer, add your tomatoes and tomato paste and mix vigorously through. Reduce the heat to medium-high and cook together for another 2 minutes
5. Once everything is well mixed and the tomatoes softened, add your red wine, the red wine vinegar, and the chili flakes

Stage 3 - Introducing Fish to Brodet (Again, Keep Stirring Polenta)

1. Take your fish steaks out of the fridge and layer on top of the vegetables in the soup pot
2. Once all the fish is in, then add your fish stock, bay leaves and rosemary into the pot
3. Keep the soup pot uncovered and cooking on high heat for 15 minutes, but do not stir the pot. If you need to jostle the ingredients around, pick the soup pot by the side handles and give it a bit of a shake, but you don't want to disturb the ingredients all too much. Add more fish stock or water as needed to keep fish submerged in case of evaporation

Stage 4 - Adding Shellfish and Finishing Polenta

1. After about 15 minutes of the brodet cooking and bubbling, place your shrimp and mussels on top of all other ingredients and submerge in the broth. At this point, you can cover the soup pot for ~3-5 minutes to help cook the shellfish, although you can also leave uncovered
2. After 5 minutes from when the shellfish was added, take your brodet off the heat and set aside for a moment
3. By now, your polenta is ready to come off the heat. Take off heat and add your 2 tablespoons of butter
4. As the butter melts and the polenta becomes creamy, finish by adding the asiago cheese to the polenta and whisking through as the cheese melts
5. Serve your brodet with a side of polenta, and enjoy!