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Croatian Fish Stew |
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HistoricFoodie
Admin Group Joined: 21 February 2012 Location: Kentucky Status: Offline Points: 4940 |
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Posted: 10 June 2015 at 07:39 |
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As many of your know, Ron subscribes to Saveur magazine’s recipe of the day feature. A week or so back they posted a recipe for Brodet, which they identified as a Croatian fish stew. Because Ron and I are both fascinated with fish soups and stews, he forwarded it on to me.
Brodet, as it turns out, is associated more with coastal Dalmatia than Croatia as a whole. This isn't surprising in a region where borders are almost totally political, rather than cultural. Brodet is, at base, a catch-of-the-day kind of stew, in which several fish and seafood varieties are used, depending on what the fishing boats bring back. As is typical of Saveur, their recipe was very cheffy and incredibly expensive to make. Even putting aside the question of availability in most of America, to make a seafood stew using monkfish, sea bass, shrimp, and langoustines would require a second mortgage. And, while it might be tasty, it’s certainly not a soup of the people, which Brodet most definitely is. FWIW, here is the Saveur version: BRODET (CROATIAN FISH STEW) 1 cup packed parsley leaves 1⁄2 cup olive oil, plus more 1⁄4 cup fresh lemon juice 14 cloves garlic, thinly sliced Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste 1 lb. skinless monkfish fillets, pin bones removed 1 lb. skinless sea bass fillets, pin bones removed 10 oz. raw medium shrimp, peeled and deveined, tails removed 6 raw, unpeeled langoustines (optional), heads on 1 lb. Yukon gold potatoes, peeled and thinly sliced 2 small leeks, white and light green parts only, halved and thinly sliced 1 large red onion, thinly sliced 1 large yellow onion, thinly sliced 1 cup dry white wine 1 (28-oz.) can whole peeled tomatoes, crushed by hand Purée parsley, half the oil, the lemon juice, half the garlic, salt, and pepper in a food processor until smooth. Transfer to a bowl with monkfish, sea bass, shrimp, and, if using, the langoustines; toss to combine and chill 10 minutes. Grease an 8-qt. Dutch oven with oil. Toss remaining garlic, the potatoes, leeks, and onions in a bowl; spread 1⁄3 of the mixture in bottom of pan; add 1⁄3 each the remaining oil, the wine and the tomatoes. Remove shrimp and langoustines from marinade and set aside; arrange 1⁄3 of the remaining fish mixture over the top. Repeat layering and add 1 cup water; cover and boil. Reduce heat to medium-low; cook, shaking pan occasionally, but not stirring, until fish and vegetables are tender, 12–15 minutes. Add shrimp and langoustines; cover and cook until pink, about 5 minutes more. Still, I was intrigues and did some research. Soon as I uncovered the fact that this dish is Dalmatian, rather than Croation, per se, I figured there had to be an Italian version. Dalmatia and Italy face each other across the Adriatic, and there is a lot of similarity in the cuisines. Sure enough, Brodet actually started life in Italy, as a fairly prosaic fish soup called Brodetto. Over time it evolved, and versions of it are found all up and down the Adriatic coast. John Stark, food writer for the Boston Globe, defines it perfectly. “Think of Brodetto as bouillabaisse’s less-celebrated Italian cousin, not as fussy and easier to spell,” he says. Here’s a typical Brodetto recipe: Brodetto (Savory Italian Fish Soup • 4 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil • 6 stalks celery & leaves, cleaned chopped in to 1/2 inch pieces • 5 small spring onions, with green tops white and green part sliced 1/4 inch thick • 2 sprigs marjoram • 2 sprigs parsley • 2 sprigs thyme • 4 cloves garlic, smashed • 3 tablespoons balsamic vinegar • 24 cherry tomatoes, cut in half • 2 pepperoncini peppers, cut in half • 1 (16 ounce) can plum tomatoes, lightly crush with your hands • 3⁄4 lb cuttlefish, cleaned and sliced 1 inch thick • 3 cups dry white wine • 2 (1 3/4 lb) sea bass or 2 (1 3/4 lb) striped bass, head and tail on, gutted and scaled, cut in half across the mid-section • 12 mussels, scrubbed • 6 razor clams • 6 large shrimp, head on • 1⁄2 lb squid, cleaned and sliced 1/2 inch thick • salt and pepper, to taste • 1 bunch Italian parsley, finely chopped to yield 1/4 cup In a large stock pot over medium high heat add olive oil, celery, spring onion, marjoram, parsley, thyme, and garlic sauté until onions begin to become transparent about 5 minutes. Add the vinegar, cherry tomatoes, pepperoncino, canned whole tomato, cuttlefish and wine. Allow to come up to a simmer and then cook for 10 minutes. Add the Bass by placing on top of the broth and very gently pushing the fish down. Allow to cook 5 minutes. Add the mussels, razor clams, shrimp, and squid by placing on top of broth and fish gently pushing down with a large ladle and basting the shell fish with the hot broth. Cover stockpot with a lid and cook for 2 to 3 minutes until mussels and clams are all open and shrimp and squid are cooked through. Taste and season with salt and pepper. Carefully remove to serving platter and sprinkle parsley on top. Notice that the ingredients are added in layers, depending on cooking time. When making Brodet, layering is the whole secret, because you want the fish (usually at least three types) to remain in large pieces. So you layer the ingredients, and never stir. Instead, periodically lift and gently rotate the pot, to prevent sticking and scorching. Traditionally, the three fish are chosen for specific purposes. You want one for flavor, one for the consistency of its flesh, and an oily one to boost the thickness of the stew. Eel most often serves as that last one. Other common choices include bonito, flounder, dentex, red mullet, sea bream, cod, John Dory, and sea bass. Shellfish are added as well, including scampi, crabs, mussels, and Baimain bugs---which are a form of spiny lobster. In short, whatever is available. This stew is more a cooking style than a specific recipe. Here is another version of Brodet. You can see the similarities to the Saveur recipe, and also the differences. Between them, they can serve as inspiration and for your own experiments: Dalmatian Brodet 3 lbs assorted fish, cut into steaks or cutlets 100 ml extra virgin olive oil, plus extra for frying Juice of half a lemon 20 garlic cloves, minced ½ bunch flat leaf parsley, chopped 1 large onion, finely chopped ½ cup finely chopped tomatoes 100 ml white wine Salt and pepper 500 ml fish stock 12 mussels, cleaned and debearded 6 scampi or small crabs 12 cherry tomatoes Marinate the fish in the oil, lemon juice, a couple of tablespoons of the minced garlic and most of the parsley (reserving a little for garnish) for a few hours. Heat some more oil in a large, heavy-based saucepan or clay pot and sauté the remaining garlic, adding the onion after about 30 seconds. When the onion is slightly colored, add the chopped tomato and cook for one minute. Add the wine and cook for about 20 minutes. Season the marinated fish with salt and pepper, making sure you get each piece. Add to the pan and stir well, then add the fish stock or water to just cover the fish. Bring to boil over high heat then continue cooking rapidly for 20 minutes. Don’t stir, but carefully shake the pan instead to avoid breaking the fish. Add the mussels, scampi and cherry tomatoes in the last five minutes. In case I wasn’t clear, neither Ron nor I have made any of these recipes as yet. But Brodet is definitely on each of our lists. If anyone should try it in the meantime, or if you’re already familiar with this great-sounding dish, please post your experiences. |
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AK1
Master Chef Joined: 10 April 2012 Location: Ontario, Canada Status: Offline Points: 1081 |
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Don't be surprised that this dish is limited to the coastal region. Up until let's say 30-40 years ago, when the highway was finally built, travelling from the interior to the coast was quite a slog, and not a lot of people had cars.
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HistoricFoodie
Admin Group Joined: 21 February 2012 Location: Kentucky Status: Offline Points: 4940 |
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Not surprised at all, Darko. Even today, the cuisine of Dalmatia and that of inland Croatia are rather different---for both the reason you gave and other causes.
Most often, when we look at regional foods, the delineating factors are ethnic or political in nature. But it sometimes happens that we should be looking at physical features instead. Andreas Viestad did this with the Indian Ocean, for instance. And I've often thought---and this stew supports the notion---that the Adriatic could be looked at as a culinary region. |
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AK1
Master Chef Joined: 10 April 2012 Location: Ontario, Canada Status: Offline Points: 1081 |
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You need to realize that Croatia is quite regional when it comes to cooking. Size wise, it isn't that big of a country, but there are differences. For example, the area where my wife is from, they cook a style called a "kotal". Where I'm from is approx 30km away, and I had never heard of this until I met her here in Canada.
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Hoser
Admin Group Joined: 06 February 2010 Location: Cumberland, RI Status: Offline Points: 3454 |
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Well....these dishes sound wonderful.
I never met a boulliabaise I didn't like, nor a ciopinno for that matter. Guess I'm just a seafood nut....will definitely be trying a version of one of these dishes.
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Go ahead...play with your food!
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HistoricFoodie
Admin Group Joined: 21 February 2012 Location: Kentucky Status: Offline Points: 4940 |
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My apologies, Darko. Rereading my original post, I see there was a typo. Discussing the differences between Croation, overall, and Dalmation, I typed "this is surprising....." Should have said, "this isn't surprising....."
I went and fixed it. But I see where your posts came from. Dave: Be sure and fill us in, when you do make it, on both your exact recipe and how you like the dish. |
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But we hae meat and we can eat
And sae the Lord be thanket |
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AK1
Master Chef Joined: 10 April 2012 Location: Ontario, Canada Status: Offline Points: 1081 |
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No apologies necessary. I think we all realize that food and cooking are not defined by political borders. There are so many variables, but as you infer, geography plays a big role. Along with that there is a political influence based on alliances, probably moreso in Europe.
Croatia for example, was part of the Austo-Hungarian empire, so there are many common elements from other parts of Eastern Europe, and from the west as well. Heck, we have goulash, we have schnitzel, we have fish stews.... We have Greek influence, Moorish as well. All, this to say that, I'm not really sure if there is anything that can be defined as "Croatian"
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HistoricFoodie
Admin Group Joined: 21 February 2012 Location: Kentucky Status: Offline Points: 4940 |
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....and don't forget Turkish; from a culinary point of view, probably the most important leveling influence in the Med.
But, just because we have those influences, doesn't mean there isn't a unique way a particular area interprets them. This could depend on physical features; on religion, on other factors. Take, for instance, the Turkish and Persian food influences on the Mideast. Widespread and pervading, for sure. But, given the restrictions imposed by halel and kashruth, we know that Muslim and Jewish cooks will often interpret the foodways differently than the originators. So,do we therefore think of Jewish and Arab food as culinary regions? A case could be made for that. Indeed, a good case could be made that they are actually one region, because the restrictions are so similar. Sounds sort of silly, I know. But we actually do that now, in some cases. Morocco, for instance, is partly defined, culinarily, as where the Turkish influence ends. So, on one hand it is part of the North African region called the Maghreb (itself defined by food, btw), but different because its food influences do not include Turkey. |
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TasunkaWitko
Admin Group Joined: 25 January 2010 Location: Chinook, MT Status: Offline Points: 9356 |
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Excellent discussion, gentlemen, and I apologise for missing it last year when it was posted. Unfortunately my attention and resources were directed elsewhere. When I came across this post last night, the discussion on it triggered an almost-forgotten memory. I grabbed my FotW volume titled, The Cooking of Vienna's Empire, from my shelf, and sure enough, I found this:
Obviously, the "Tabasco peppers" are a readily-available American substitute for local Croatian varieties, but otherwise, I find this version very intriguing, and am strongly considering this as a possible project this spring, when the carp will be firm and fresh from the winter. Considering that it's for freshwater fish, rather than from the bounty of the sea, perhaps it is an inland adaptation; nevertheless, I am positive that sea fish and shellfish would work just as well, in lieu of carp. While I have no proof, I'm nearly certain that this version would give the offering from Saveur a serious run for its money, possibly with better credentials, to boot. The commentary in the chapter that accompanied the recipes did provide some good and useful contemporary information that - in my opinion - adds considerable ambiance to the discussion:
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TasunkaWitko
Admin Group Joined: 25 January 2010 Location: Chinook, MT Status: Offline Points: 9356 |
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I was going through some old emails today and came across these notes from some correspondence that Brook and I had regarding Brodet. Some of this might be repeated information, but I will add it to the thread so as to provide a more complete picture of this ubiquitous dish:
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HistoricFoodie
Admin Group Joined: 21 February 2012 Location: Kentucky Status: Offline Points: 4940 |
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Playing off where you are, Ron, and the requirements that one of the seafood elements by oily to provide richness and depth of flavor, you might include trout as well as the cod and shrimp.
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Margi Cintrano
Master Chef Joined: 03 February 2012 Location: Spain Status: Offline Points: 6357 |
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Brook, These fish specialties are absolutely exceptionally outstanding. The Brodetto, is on my list for tomorrow. Just wrote down the ingredients and shall call my Fish Monger, Miguel .. Remarkable post. Thank you for sharing all these fabulous fish / shellfish récipes. |
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DavidCol
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HistoricFoodie
Admin Group Joined: 21 February 2012 Location: Kentucky Status: Offline Points: 4940 |
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Hey, David,
Glad you enjoyed it. The ones I've made have been superb. I, for one, would like to hear more about Croatian cuisine. Why don't you start a thread or three. |
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And sae the Lord be thanket |
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Margi Cintrano
Master Chef Joined: 03 February 2012 Location: Spain Status: Offline Points: 6357 |
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Ron and Brook, The Crotian coastlines are quite extensive, one being the Mediterranean, and the other being the Baltic, where Dubrovnik is located. Scrod is from Norway .. Carp is a lake fish if I am not mistaken .. Here is a real Croatian Brodetto .. 400 Grams of Monkfish 4 Scampi or Langoustines or Norway Bay Lobsters, which are what they are called in British English 2 Red mullets 500 grams of Ray fish 2 Sepias of 200 grams or squid 6 tomatoes 1 small Green horn pepper or small bell Green 2 cloves of garlic salt to taste Italian or Greek Evoo - 3 and one half tablespoons 800 grams of either Scorpion / Red dragon fish or Saint Pierre ( Famous for their scorpio fish ) Crumbled 1 Dried red chili pepper Fresh parsley This récipe is renowned in Croatia and the Adriatic part of Greece ( Corfu ) and Italy, along the extensive Adriatic coast .. And the recipe´s origins are Roman from Abruzzo .. And yes, brodetto is a type of Bouillabaisse. When I have a chance, I shall type up the récipe and how to prepare it .. It is prepared in a Cazuela ! Have a lovely weekend .. |
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TasunkaWitko
Admin Group Joined: 25 January 2010 Location: Chinook, MT Status: Offline Points: 9356 |
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Hi, Dave, and welcome to the forum ~ it sounds as though you've done some traveling and tried so great food, and we hope to hear more from you!
Hi, Margi, and thanks much for the fish recommendations; living in land-locked Montana, the choices here are quite limited, so it is good to see what the locals use to prepare the cuisine of the region. This is another one that I would love to try - too many on the list, and not enough finished! |
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Margi Cintrano
Master Chef Joined: 03 February 2012 Location: Spain Status: Offline Points: 6357 |
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Ron, This is quite a simple dish to prepare .. In fishing season, do a "doublé " and prepare it with your river or lake catches of the day .. I am also sure that you could find some frozen prawns and calamar / squid as well .. You can sub trout surely !! Have a lovely day .. |
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