Couscous was launched to Sicily by means of North Africa, and makes a filling most important course when topped with the island’s fish, shrimp, squid, and mussels. The aromatic tomato and seafood broth is a ending flourish for the semolina granules to take in.
Featured in: “Eating the Arab Roots of Sicilian Cuisine.”
Sicilian Seafood Stew with Almonds and Couscous
In western Sicily, couscous is usually served as an appetizer. Right here, a bounty of native seafood—swordfish, shrimp, calamari, and mussels—is piled on high for a hearty most important course. The cooking liquid, a aromatic tomato-seafood broth, is wealthy and flavorful, so you should definitely serve the seafood and couscous doused with loads of it—the couscous will soak a lot of it up.
Yield: serves 4-6
Time:
1 hour, 10 minutes
Substances
- ⅓ cups olive oil
- 1 celery stalk, finely chopped
- 1 medium purple bell pepper, seeded and finely chopped
- 1 medium yellow onion, finely chopped
- 1 small carrot, finely chopped
- 2 tbsp. tomato paste
- 2 medium tomatoes, seeded and finely chopped
- 1 garlic clove, finely chopped
- 1 zucchini, halved lengthwise and sliced ¼-in. thick
- 4 cups fish inventory
- ¼ tsp. crushed saffron threads
- 8 oz. swordfish, reduce into 1-in. chunks
- 8 oz. small head-on shrimp
- 1 lb. mussels, scrubbed and debearded
- 1 lb. entire squid, tentacles left entire, mantles reduce into ½-in. rings
- 1 lb. cockles or littleneck clams, cleaned
- ½ cups entire toasted almonds, finely chopped
- 2 tbsp. packed flat-leaf parsley leaves
- 2 tbsp. toasted pine nuts
- Kosher salt and freshly floor black pepper
- 6 cups cooked couscous, sizzling
Directions
- To a big Dutch oven set over medium warmth, add the olive oil, celery, bell pepper, onion, and carrot and cook dinner, stirring continuously, till gentle however not browned, about 12 minutes. Add the tomato paste and cook dinner, stirring continuously, to coat the greens, about 2 minutes. Flip the warmth to excessive and add the tomatoes, garlic, and zucchini, and cook dinner, stirring continuously, till the tomato is damaged down, about 3 minutes. Add the inventory and saffron, and when the liquid boils, add the seafood within the following order: swordfish, shrimp, mussels, squid, and cockles. Cowl and cook dinner, shaking the pot often, till the fish and shrimp are cooked by way of and the mussels and cockles open, 8–10 minutes. Take away from the warmth and discard any shells that stay shut.
- To serve, sprinkle over the almonds, parsley, and pine nuts and season with salt and black pepper. Divide the couscous amongst shallow soup bowls, then ladle over the greens, broth, and seafood.