Recipe for Seafood and Vegetable Stew with Rouille (Red Pepper Sauce)

Fish and Vegetable Stew with Rouille

The discovery of a new dish does more for human happiness than the discovery of a new star. John Anthelme Brillat-Savarin, Physiologie du Gout (Physiology of Taste) (1825)

Where do recipes come from? Family, community, tradition, and serendipitous accident are easy but incomplete answers.

The primary source of recipes has always been an individual cook’s imagination and palate. Over time, original recipes are modified by other cooks’ imaginations and adjusted by yet more cooks’ palates, to infinity and without limitation.

The food articles I enjoy most are ones that explain how a dish was developed or why a cook chose to combine certain flavors. Although its authors’ cooking styles and skills are quite different from my own, Ideas in Food is one of my favorite blogs. It focuses on the techniques and thought processes that go into creating unique flavor combinations.

I recently made Seafood and Vegetable Stew with Rouille. Here's how it came into being:

My kitchen counter was overflowing with garnet yams, bounty from more than one Full Circle Farms CSA box. I wanted to do something other than oven-roasting the yams or making oven fries. Looking for inspiration, I randomly pulled cookbooks off the shelves.

Barbara Kafka’s book Soup: A Way of Life had an interesting recipe for Fall Fish Stew that included sweet potatoes. I decided to try it.

My first version of the stew was similar to Kafka’s, though I substituted sautéed sweet potatoes for boiled and edamame beans for limas. After tasting the broth, I wanted more flavor.

In my next version, I added sautéed onions and red bell peppers, and used a different Rouille recipe than Kafka’s. I seasoned the Rouille with dried, ground red Moroccan pepper (poivron rouge). This version was tasty, but I thought it could be better.

In my final version, I added crushed fennel seeds and shelled shrimp. This combination was exactly what I wanted. Although inspired by Kafka, the final stew is uniquely my own.

I internet-ordered poivron rouge from World Spice Merchants in Seattle, one of my favorite herb and spice purveyors. World Spice describes poivron rouge as “sweet red pepper … produced from sweet round red niora peppers grown in the lush valleys at the foot of the High Atlas Mountains to the northeast of Marrakech.“

Poivron Rouge and Sweet Hungarian Paprika

Although Moroccan recipes often call for paprika, niora peppers are what Moroccans use for “paprika.” The flavor of ground niora differs significantly from sweet Hungarian paprika. Niora is spicier and has a fruitier flavor than its Hungarian counterpart, which has a slightly bitter aftertaste.

Moroccan niora peppers are likely the same as the ñora peppers used in Romesco sauce and other Spanish and Catalonian dishes. In addition to having similar names, nioras and ñoras look the same. Most texts refer to nioras and ñoras only as members of the Capsicum annuum family; in other words, as domesticated peppers. However, in Catalan Cuisine, Colman Andrews says pepper scholar Charles Perry “thinks the nyora [ñora] pepper is the variety scientifically called Capsicum annuum grossum/provar. Pomiforme/sub-var. Conc. Humilirotundum Haz."

No matter what its scientific designation might be, poivron rouge has wonderful flavor and a permanent place in my spice cupboard. Its mildly spicy and fruity tastes make distinctively delicious Rouille and a mouth-wateringly good Seafood and Vegetable Stew.

Seafood and Vegetable Stew with Rouille (Red Pepper Sauce)
Serves 4
The stew may also be made with just fish or just shrimp; if so, use 1 pound of either ingredient. Although not necessary, steamed rice is a nice complement to the spicy, aromatic broth. Serve the rice on the side so eaters can stir the amount they desire into the stew.

1 cup peeled, diced garnet yams or sweet potatoes, 1/2” dice (1 garnet yam)
2 Tbsp. olive oil
Salt
Freshly ground black pepper
1 cup diced red bell pepper, 1/2” dice (1-2 peppers)
1 cup diced yellow onion, 1/2” dice
1 tsp. freshly crushed fennel seed
4 cups fish stock or clam broth (nectar)
1 recipe Rouille (see below)
1 cup shelled edamame beans (thawed) or fresh fava beans
1/2 pound skinless fillets of halibut, rockfish, cod, or other white-fleshed fish, cut in 3/4” pieces
1/2 pound shelled and cleaned shrimp, 16-20 count, halved crosswise
1/4 cup fresh lemon juice (1 lemon)
Minced parsley for garnish

Sauté the garnet yams in olive oil, lightly seasoned with salt and freshly ground black pepper, until they start to brown around the edges. Stir in the red bell peppers and onions, and continue to sauté until the onions soften. Add the crushed fennel seed and sauté for 1 minute. Stir in the fish stock, bring to a boil, turn down the heat and simmer for 15 minutes. (The recipe may be made ahead to this point.)

In a small bowl, whisk one cup of the hot broth into the Rouille. Stir this mixture into the simmering stew pot, along with the edamame beans, fish, and shrimp. Do not let boil or the Rouille may curdle. Simmer for 3-4 minutes, or until the seafood is cooked through. Stir in the lemon juice. Taste and add salt or lemon juice, as needed.

Sprinkle with minced parsley and serve immediately with steamed rice and wedges of lemon.

Rouille
Recipe adapted from In the Hands of a Chef by Jody Adams
Rouille goes well with all fish, and is a tasty addition to fish salads. The recipe may be doubled or tripled and keeps for a week in the refrigerator.

1 egg yolk
1/2 tsp. Dijon mustard
1 Tbsp. fresh lemon juice
1/4 cup vegetable oil
1/4 cup best quality extra virgin olive oil
2 tsp. chopped garlic
1/2 tsp. salt
4 tsp. poivron rouge or sweet Hungarian paprika
1/4 tsp. cayenne pepper

Put the egg yolk, mustard, and lemon juice in a blender and mix well. While the blender is running, add the vegetable oil drop by drop so that it emulsifies with the other ingredients. While the blender is running, pour in the olive oil in a steady stream. Add the remaining ingredients and blend until the Rouille is very smooth, scraping down the sides of the blender to ensure all ingredients are thoroughly incorporated.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
This is my recipe for Weekend Herb Blogging, hosted this week by Dee from The Daily Tiffin.

Moroccan Salmon, Fennel-Preserved Lemon Salad, & Sweet Potato Oven Fries (Μαροκινός Σολομός, Σαλάτα με Μάραθο και Λεμόνια, & Γλυκοπατάτα στο Φούρνο)

I have an irrational aversion to the texture of boiled or braised sweet potatoes. Until I discovered oven roasting, sweet potatoes were emphatically not part of my diet.

Even so, I'd been hankering for Moroccan sweet potato tagine. A cookbook with the recipe had been sitting open on the couch for over a week. A bag of sweet potatoes from my Full Circle Farm CSA box languished on the counter. I needed to try the tagine.

At least that’s how it seemed. Every time I went to make it, however, I thought about mushy sweet potatoes, and stopped in my tracks. Like I said, my reaction is irrational. Intellectually, I want to try it; emotionally, I can’t get beyond no, no, no.

I finally gave up on the tagine, at least for now. Someday I’ll power through my aversion, and discover what I’ve been missing all these years. In the meantime, I constructed a menu around the tagine’s flavors and ingredients, and stuck with oven-roasting the sweet potatoes.

The tagine’s dominant spices – cumin, coriander, papika, and hot pepper – I used as a rub for salmon fillets. I made oven-fries with the sweet potatoes, and salad from fennel, red peppers, and preserved lemons, three more of the tagine’s ingredients. (For how to make preserved lemons, here is an easy recipe.)

The result was truly wonderful. It put us both in a good mood for the rest of the evening.

I wish all my meals tasted this good. Of course, it’s possible the tagine would’ve been even better. I’m still trying to think my way into it.

Moroccan-Spiced Salmon (Μαροκινός Σολομός)
Serves 4

1 pound salmon fillets
1 1/2 tsp. freshly ground cumin seed
1 1/2 tsp. freshly ground coriander seed
1 1/2 tsp. paprika
1/2 tsp. crushed red pepper flakes
1/2 tsp. salt
1 Tbsp. olive oil

Wash the salmon and dry it well. Using needle-nosed pliers, remove as many pin-bones from the fillet as possible. Skin the fish, if necessary, and cut it into 4 even pieces.

Mix the cumin, coriander, paprika, pepper flakes, and salt. Rub the spices over both sides of the salmon fillets.

Heat the olive oil in a pan until it is hot, but not smoking. Turn the heat to medium high, and add the salmon. Cook for 3 – 5 minutes, or until the pan side of the salmon is lightly browned. Turn over and cook for 1 - 3 minutes, or until the salmon is done to your taste. The exact cooking time depends on the fillets’ thickness; keep in mind that salmon tastes better slightly underdone than it does when it's overdone.

Serve immediately on a bed of Fennel and Preserved Lemon Salad.

Fennel and Preserved Lemon Salad (Σαλάτα με Μάραθο και Λεμόνια στην Άρμη)
Serves 4
When I served this, both of us wanted more salad than I’d made and thought the salmon should be served on a bed of it. I’ve adjusted the salad recipe accordingly. Adding the capers depends on how much you like them; one of us preferred capers, the other liked it better without. Taste the salad without the capers, then try it with capers and add them if you think they’re an improvement.

2 cups diced fennel, 1/4” dice
1 cup diced red bell pepper, 1/4” dice
2/3 cup finely sliced green onions
3 Tbsp. minced preserved lemon peel
2 tsp. minced garlic
1/2 tsp. freshly ground fennel seed
Freshly ground black pepper
1/3 cup Preserved Lemon Aioli (see recipe below)
1/2 cup capers (optional)

Mix all the ingredients. Taste and adjust seasoning, if necessary. Serve.

Preserved Lemon Aioli
Makes 1 1/2 cups
Preserved lemons are quite salty, the flesh more so than the peel. Preserved Lemon Aioli gets all the salt it needs from the lemons. I like making this with the peel from half of a preserved lemon, but the flesh from only a quarter of a preserved lemon. To prevent the aioli from being too salty, it’s best to start with a smaller amount of preserved lemon flesh and add more to taste. If you substitute lemon juice and peel for the preserved lemon, be sure to salt the aioli. I prefer making this in a blender because it grinds the ingredients more evenly, but I use the feed tube from my Cuisinart to add olive oil. Put the feed tube into the hole in the blender’s top, pour olive oil into the feed tube, and the hole in the bottom of the feed tube will effortlessly add oil at exactly the right rate for a perfect emulsion.

1/2 preserved lemon or the zest and juice of 1 lemon
3 large cloves chopped garlic
1 egg
1 cup olive oil

Rinse the preserved lemon under running water. Remove the flesh and reserve. Roughly chop the preserved lemon peel and put it in a blender with 1/4 of the reserved lemon flesh. Purée and taste to determine the degree of saltiness before adding the egg and oil. If it needs salt, add more of the lemon flesh. Mix in the egg and purée; scrape down the sides of the blender. Add the oil drop by drop while the blender is running. (The aioli will break and separate if you add the oil too fast, see NOTE below.) When all the oil is incorporated, taste and adjust the seasoning, as needed. Refrigerate for up to two weeks.

NOTE: If the aioli breaks, pour it out of the blender. Add an egg and purée, scraping down the sides of the blender. Add the broken aioli drop by drop while the blender is running.

Sweet Potato Oven Fries (Γλυκοπατάτα στο Φούρνο)
Serves 4

6 garnet yams (sweet potatoes)
6 Tbsp. olive oil
Salt

Preheat the oven to 325°F.

Peel the garnet yams and cut them in 1/4” slices. Cut the slices into 1/4” sticks. Divide between 2 rimmed baking sheets, toss the contents of each sheet with 3 Tbsp. olive oil and plenty of salt. Bake for 30 minutes, rotating the pans halfway through the cooking time. Remove the pans from the oven. (Recipe can be made ahead to this point.)

Turn the oven heat up to 450°F; when the oven reaches temperature, return the pans to the oven and bake for 10-15 minutes, or until the sweet potatoes start browning. Remove from the oven and prop up one end of the baking sheet so the oil quickly runs off the potatoes to the lower end of the baking sheet (you may need to align the potatoes so they don't block the oil from running off). Serve immediately.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
More Preserved Lemon Recipes
Preserved Lemons, Candied Lemon Peels, and Sparkling Mint-Lemonade (I show you how to make preserved lemons, how to candy the extra lemon peels, and how to use leftover syrup for sparkling lemonade.)
Moroccan Beef Stew (Mike makes a slow cooked beef tagine with sweet potatoes, chickpeas, preserved lemons, and lots of spices.)
Olives, Chicken with Preserved Lemon (Lydia makes a quick-cooking tagine with boneless chicken thighs, olives, and preserved lemons.)
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

This is my entry for Antioxidant Rich Foods/Five-a-Day Tuesdays hosted by Sweetnicks.

Recipe: Moroccan Chermoula and Carrot Soup (Μαροκινή Σούπα με Καρότα)

Something is happening in my vegetable drawer. I swear the carrots have been multiplying during the night. I can’t use them fast enough.

The real cause of the carrot explosion is their arrival in every CSA box we’ve received over the past few months. I love carrots, I’m glad they’re in the boxes, but I need to do better at keeping up with the inflow.

A new CSA box is arriving today, and yes, it will include another bunch of carrots. Last night, I took the carrot overflow problem in hand and made a wonderfully flavorful Moroccan Chermoula and Carrot Soup.

Although Carrot Soup is delicious on its own, the addition of Chermoula turns it into something special. I make the Chermoula while the soup is simmering, which means the entire recipe takes less than an hour from start to serving.

It’s hard for me to get enough Chermoula – I usually double or triple the recipe whenever I make it. I use the extra Chermoula to top grilled salmon, halibut, or chicken, or to add flavor to salads.

Moroccan Chermoula and Carrot Soup (Μαροκινή Σούπα με Καρότα)


Mediterranean Cooking in Alaska has moved as of March 2011. To read this post please go to


http://www.laurieconstantino.com/moroccan-chermoula-and-carrot-soup/


Please click on over and visit my new site. Thank you!

3 Recipes: Preserved Lemons & Candied Lemon Peel & Sparkling Lemonade and Mint (Λεμόνια στην Άρμη & Γλυκά Φλούδα του Λεμονιού & Λεμονάδα με Δυόσμος)

I used to make Moroccan food all the time. Its spice-rich flavors please my palate.

Why I quit cooking Moroccan, I have no idea. It wasn’t a conscious decision to stop, but it's been years since I made more than a couple Moroccan dishes a year. In the past week, I’ve read about Elly’s Moroccan Chicken with Lentils and Mike’s Moroccan Lemon and Olive Chicken.

Now I’m craving Moroccan.

When we regularly ate the foods of Morocco, I always kept a jar of preserved lemons in the refrigerator. Yesterday I started a batch as a first step in restocking my Moroccan pantry.

I preserve lemons in lemon juice and salt. When I juice the lemons, I’m left with too many lemon peels to throw away. Instead, I peel the lemons before I juice them and make Candied Lemon Peel.

Of course, after making Candied Lemon Peel, I’m left with too much lemon syrup to throw away. The lemon syrup is a perfect building block for making Sparkling Lemonade with Mint, a light and refreshing thirst-quencher.

Preserved Lemons (Λεμόνια στην Άρμη)
For extra flavor, add Preserved Lemons to salads, vegetables, sauces, poultry, or fish.

8 lemons
1 cup salt
1 1/2 cups lemon juice (4 – 6 lemons)
Olive oil

Sterilize a large jar (2 quart) and lid.

Cut off the top and bottom of each lemon, without cutting into the flesh. Reserve the ends for another use, such as Candied Lemon Peel (see below). Cut the lemons into quarters, but do not cut all the way through – leave the lemons connected at one end. Thickly layer salt into the cuts, and pack lemons into the sterilized jar. Pour in enough lemon juice to cover the lemons.

Cover and let sit at room temperature for 7 days. Turn the jar several times a day to evenly distribute the brine. After 7 days, top off the jar with olive oil (to prevent spoilage) and refrigerate. The preserved lemons are now ready to use.

To use preserved lemons, remove the lemon flesh and discard. Rinse the peel and chop into appropriate sized pieces for the recipe you’re making.

Candied Lemon Peel (Γλυκά Φλούδα του Λεμονιού)
Candied lemon peel is tasty on its own as a sweet treat, and adds flavor when added to cookies, cakes, or ice cream.

2 cups lemon peel (peel from 4 - 6 lemons)
3 cups sugar, divided
2 cups water

Peel the lemons in large pieces. With a sharp knife, remove as much white pith from the lemon peels as is possible; the edge of a teaspoon works well to remove pith from a lemon’s top or bottom end. Place the peels in a pot, cover with cold water, bring to a boil, cook for one minute, and drain. Return peels to the pot, cover with cold water, bring to a boil, cook for one minute, and drain. Cut the blanched peel into thin strips.

Microwave method: Mix 2 cups sugar and water in a microwave-safe bowl. Cook for 10 minutes on high. Stir. Cook for 10 minutes on high. Stir. Cook for 4 more minutes on high. Stir the lemon peel into the syrup. Microwave on high for 8 minutes.

Stovetop method: Mix 2 cups sugar and water in a saucepan and bring to a boil. Cook, without stirring, over medium heat until you have light syrup, about 45 minutes. Stir in the strips of lemon peel and cook for 10 minutes.

Let the lemon peels sit in the syrup until the syrup is cool and the lemon peels slightly translucent (I let the peels sit in the syrup overnight). Drain the lemon peel and reserve the syrup for another use.

Put the remaining 1 cup sugar in a plastic bag. Add a handful of lemon strips to the sugar and shake until the pieces of peel are completely coated with sugar. Spread out the candied peel on two baking sheets and let sit until dry. Repeat until all the lemon strips are coated with sugar.

Put in an airtight jar and store in the refrigerator.

Sparkling Lemonade with Mint (Λεμονάδα με Δυόσμος)
Makes 1 drink

1 sprig mint
3 Tbsp. lemon syrup (see Note)
1 cup seltzer water or club soda

Pull the mint leaves off the stem and crush them in your fingers. Put them in a glass, along with the lemon syrup and seltzer water. Stir to combine. Add ice cubes and serve.

NOTE: Use leftover syrup from the Candied Lemon Peel recipe (above), or make a simple sugar and water syrup with 1 cup sugar and 1 cup water, using the method in the Candied Lemon Peel recipe. When the sugar and water form a light syrup, let it cool, and add 1 1/2 cups fresh lemon juice.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
This is my entry for Weekend Herb Blogging, hosted this week by Erin from The Skinny Gourmet.