SEAFOOD STEW WITH SPICY MUSSEL & SAFFRON BROTH
Serves 4
Originally a dish at Rockpool, George Street, Executive Chef Khan Danis wanted to put it on the Bar & Grill menu in Melbourne. The spicy intensive flavour of the broth paired with seafood makes it a winning combination. It has a permanent home at all Bar & Grills now. You can add any seafood you like, but don’t omit the mussels — they’re essential to the broth as their salty juices give the sauce a rich deep taste of the sea.
ROASTED TOMATO SAUCE
2 vine-ripened tomatoes, cores removed
3 teaspoons extra virgin olive oil
sea salt & freshly ground black pepper
½ teaspoon white sugar
1 teaspoon Forum cabernet sauvignon vinegar
1 teaspoon chopped tarragon
1 teaspoon chopped thyme
Preheat the oven to 180°C (350°F/Gas 4). Coat the tomatoes in olive oil and season to taste with salt and pepper. Roast until they collapse and the juices release. Cool, then peel off their skins.
Place the tomatoes in a small saucepan over low heat. Add the sugar and vinegar and cook until the tomatoes have broken down and the sauce has thickened. Stir in the herbs and season to taste.
PASTE
1 tablespoon coriander seeds, toasted
1 tablespoon fennel seeds, toasted
1 tablespoon white peppercorns, toasted
½ carrot, chopped
½ red onion, chopped
½ large fennel bulb, chopped
3 garlic cloves, chopped
3 red birdseye chillies, chopped
3 kaffir lime leaves, very finely chopped
1 stalk lemongrass, inner part chopped
45 g (12/3 oz) knob of galangal, chopped
70 ml (2¼ fl oz) vegetable oil
Finely grind the coriander and fennel seeds and peppercorns in a mortar using a pestle or in a spice grinder. Transfer to a blender, add the remaining ingredients and blend until a smooth paste forms.
TO SERVE
200 g (7 oz) baby octopus
1 x 400 g (14 oz) calamari
800 g (1 lb 12 oz) mussels, scrubbed & beards removed
2 tablespoons white wine
¼ teaspoon saffron threads
70 ml (2¼ fl oz) vegetable oil
1 kg (4 lb 8z) snapper bones, cut into 5 pieces
1 tomato, diced
2 tablespoons tomato jam
3 kaffir lime leaves, bruised
1 litre (35 fl oz/4 cups) white chicken stock or water
4 x 100 g (3½ oz) snapper fillets
250 g (9 oz) clams (vongole), purged
8 raw (green) king prawns (shrimp), peeled & deveined
40 g (1½ oz) unsalted butter
60 g (2¼ oz/¼ cup) crème fraîche
Clean the octopus and calamari. Score and cut the calamari into 8 pieces. Place the mussels and wine in a heavy-based saucepan over high heat. Cover and cook, shaking the pan occasionally until the mussels have opened. Strain through a sieve placed over a bowl. Add the saffron to the hot strained liquid and set aside. Remove the mussels from their shells and set aside.
Heat the vegetable oil in a large saucepan over medium heat. Add the paste and cook for about 20 minutes or until fragrant and split.
Add the snapper bones, tomato, tomato jam, lime leaves and mussel meat and cook for 5 minutes. Add the saffron liquid and stock, bring to a gentle simmer, reduce the heat to medium–low and cook for about 30 minutes. Season to taste with salt. Pass through a potato ricer or food mill, then pass through a sieve, pushing down on the purée until dry.
Transfer the soup to a large wide-based saucepan over low heat. Add the snapper fillets, calamari, octopus, clams, prawns and roasted tomato sauce, bring to a very gentle simmer and cook until the seafood is cooked and the clams have opened. Remove the seafood, using a slotted spoon, leaving the liquid in the pan, and divide among warmed serving bowls.
Add the butter and crème fraîche to the pan, whisk to combine, then ladle over the seafood. Serve with the aïoli and croûtons.
