Spanish · Catalonia · main

Suquet de Peix

Suquet de Peix reads umami 6.6, richness 5.3 and salinity 5.1 on Palate's 0–10 flavor X-ray — a Spanish · Catalonia main, about 1 hr 31 min. Measured from the recipe itself: ingredients and technique.

The flavor X-ray — six axes, 0–10

• Umami & Savory — 7.7 / 10
• Sweet & Fruity — 3.7 / 10
• Sour & Bright — 3.1 / 10
• Bitter & Earthy — 3.1 / 10
• Rich & Fat — 6.8 / 10
• Aromatic & Spice — 3.6 / 10

The measured notes (of 18)

Umami 6.6 · Richness 5.3 · Salinity 5.1 · Nutty 4.9 · Marine & Briny 3.5 · Allium 3.3 · Sweetness 2.9 · Funk & Ferment 2.7 · Smoke 2.5 · Sourness 2.5 · Fruity 2.4 · Earthy 2.2 · Citrus 2.2 · Floral 1.6 · Herbaceous 1.6 · Bitterness 1.4 · Warm Spice 1.3 · Heat 0.5

What's in it (16)

• monkfish — 800 g
• langoustines — 400 g
• potatoes — 500 g
• onions — 350 g
• tomatoes — 300 g
• extra virgin olive oil — 92 g
• fish stock — 1000 g
• marcona almonds — 40 g
• hazelnuts — 20 g
• garlic — 12 g
• flat-leaf parsley — 8 g
• country ham — 30 g
• saffron — 0 g
• spanish smoked paprika — 3 g
• dry white wine — 100 g
• salt — 10 g

Time & effort: about 1 hr 31 min (1 hr 30 min active) · effort: involved

Nutrition (per 100 g, engine-estimated): 48.9 kcal, 4.9 g protein, 1.5 g fat, 3.5 g carbs

Dietary: Contains meat · Contains seafood — engine-derived; double-check anything allergy-critical.

How it's cooked (8 steps)

1. A suquet is a fisherman's stew built on the two structures that define Catalan cooking: a sofregit at the beginning and a picada at the end. Get both right and almost any firm fish works.
2. Heat the oil in a wide earthenware cassola or heavy pan. Sear the langoustines over high heat for 1 minute a side, just until the shells turn red, and lift them out. Their juices are now in the oil.
3. Turn the heat to low and add the onion. This is the sofregit: cook it 30 minutes, stirring often, until it has gone from white to soft to a jammy deep gold. Add the grated tomato and cook another 20 minutes at a bare simmer, until the mixture darkens to brick red and the oil separates out at the edges. A sofregit that takes 15 minutes is not a sofregit.
4. While that goes, fry the bread slice in a little oil for 2 minutes until golden, and make the picada: pound the almonds, hazelnuts, garlic, parsley, saffron and the fried bread in a mortar with a pinch of salt until you have a coarse damp paste, about 5 minutes. Do it by hand — a blender makes a purée, and you want texture.
5. Off the heat, stir the pimentón into the sofregit and count one minute. Return to the heat, add the wine and let it bubble 3 minutes.
6. Crack the potatoes into 4 cm chunks, add them with the hot fumet, and simmer 15 minutes until nearly tender.
7. Lay the fish slices on top, cover, and poach 8 minutes at a bare tremble. Return the langoustines. Loosen the picada with a ladle of the broth, stir it in, and cook 5 minutes more — the sauce will thicken and turn slightly grainy in a good way. Season with salt and serve in the cooking dish.
8. Substitutions: scorpionfish can stand in for the monkfish tail.

Dishes with a similar flavor shape

• Pollastre amb Escamarlans (Mar i Muntanya) — Spanish · Catalonia
• Quenelles de Brochet, Sauce Nantua — French · Lyon
• Shrimp Teriyaki Stir-Fry — Japanese
• Ayam Buah Keluak (Chicken with Fermented Black Nuts) — Peranakan
• Wetha Si Byan (Pork Curry Cooked Until the Oil Returns) — Burmese

Keep reading: what umami, richness, salinity mean in the flavor lexicon · the world's cuisines, by flavor.

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Every number above is Palate's engine-measured estimate, computed from this recipe's ingredients and techniques — not human-tasted ratings or reviews.