Recipes SEAFOOD STEW WITH ANCIENT GRAIN MEDLEY & GREMOLATA2
SEAFOOD STEW WITH ANCIENT GRAIN MEDLEY & GREMOLATA2
We’re all about ancient grains and pulses this month, and are having a blast experimenting with these good-for-you alternatives to the starches we mostly turn to for completing our meals. One of these lesser-known ingredients is buckwheat, which is increasingly available in shops, much to our delight.
Unlike its name implies buckwheat is in fact not wheat at all. It’s not technically a grain either, but rather a seed. Gluten-free, protein-rich and packed with vitamins and minerals, the benefits of buckwheat have been appreciated in Asian cuisines for centuries. Other than being nutritious, it is also delicious. Buckwheat is by no means shy – it packs a punch with a deep, rich, nutty earthiness that just begs for strong flavours to complement it. Our Mediterranean-inspired seafood stew with its cheeky smokey paprika and garlic notes fits the bill nicely.
- WHAT YOU WILL NEED -
- FOR THE SEAFOOD STEW
- ½ red onion, very finely chopped
- 3 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil
- 1 fat clove garlic, minced
- 1 tin diced tomatoes
- 1 heaped tsp Cape Herb & Spice SMOKED PAPRIKA
- ¼ tsp sugar
- FOR ANCIENT GRAIN MEDLEY
- ¼ tsp salt
- ½ cup mixed brown rice and wild rice, cooked according to package instructions
- pinch of chilli flakes (if you like it spicy, make it a generous pinch!)
- ½ cup dehulled buckwheat, cooked according to package instructions
- 20 fresh mussels
- FOR THE GREMOLATA
- 10 prawns, deveined
- zest of one lemon (a microplane works best for making brilliantly fine zest)
- 1 tuna steak
- large handful of flatleaf parsley – leaves only, finely chopped
- METHOD -
Fry the red onion in olive oil over a low heat until soft, but not browned or caramelized. Add the garlic and fry for a minute, then add the tomatoes, paprika, sugar, salt and chilli and cook over medium heat for 10 minutes with the lid off. (Cook’s tip: you want this base tomato sauce to cook quite dry – without burning of course! – as the mussels will release a lot of liquid once added to the tomato sauce.)
Wash the mussels and pull off any visible ‘beard’. Taste test the tomato sauce and adjust seasoning if needs be. Tumble in the mussels and prawns and cook until the mussels have just opened and the prawns are pink and firm. You could cut the tuna into blocks and also cook it in the sauce. We quite like the colour and Mediterranean flavour that pan-frying in quality olive oil gives tuna, so we did that, and broke giant flakes of the tuna steak into our stew right at the end.
Mix the cooked wild rice, brown rice and buckwheat together and serve up with the stew. Combine the zest and parsley to create your gremolata and spoon over the hot stew. The aromas of the lemon and fresh parsley as they connect with the warm stew is simply, a knockout!
Recipe concept & photography by Lizet Hartley.
Lizet Hartley is a freelance stills and reel food stylist, food photographer and recipe developer. In her spare time she – rather predictably – cooks. Get more of her recipes on her blog at http://www.melkkos-merlot.co.za
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