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"If you like cioppino, you'll love this," Rach says, of her easy one-pan seafood bake with garlic bread.
Rach makes a fortified stock in this recipe for extra layers of flavor, but feel free to skip this step and use store-bought stock instead if you are short on time.
Try pairing this Italian seafood bake with James Bond's Vesper Martini—shaken not stirred—by John.
Ingredients
- About ⅓ cup extra-virgin olive oil (EVOO)
- 4 medium thin skinned potatoes, Yukon gold or white, mandolin or thinly sliced
- 1 large bulb fennel (or 2 medium bulbs), trim tops and core, thinly sliced with mandolin or by hand
- 1 large onion (or 2 medium), thinly sliced
- Salt and pepper
- 1 pound large shrimp, shells removed and reserved (for fortified stock, if making)
- Four 6- to 8-ounce sustainable white fish fillets, such as halibut, patted dry
- About 3 cups fortified stock (see below), or store-bought chicken stock, vegetable stock, bone broth or water
- 3 anchovy fillets, chopped (optional)
- 2 to 3 cloves shaved garlic
- One handful thyme leaves, plus another handful for garnishing
- 2 bay leaves
- 1 lemon, zest removed and reserved, halved
- About ¾ cup white vermouth or white wine
- 1 cup chopped fresh celery tops, parsley and fennel fronds
- Fresh parsley, for garnishing (optional)
- 1 leek
- One handful fresh parsley and thyme stems
- 3 to 4 lemon slices
- 5 to 6 cloves garlic, crushed
- 1 baguette, split lengthwise, then halved crosswise and lightly toasted
- Butter or olive oil
- Dried chives
- Dried parsley
- Dried dill
- Fresh garlic slivers
- Crushed red pepper flakes, for sprinkling
- Grated parm
Yield
Preparation
Preheat oven to 450˚F with rack in center.
Arrange potatoes, fennel and onions in roasting pan and toss to coat with EVOO, salt and pepper. Roast 15 minutes.
If making the fortified stock from scratch, toast shrimp shells in a skillet. Add leek, parsley and thyme stems, lemon slices and crushed garlic. Add stock, bring up to a bubble, then turn down to low and cook for about 20 minutes. Strain, return stock to pan and reduce over medium-low heat for 7 to 8 minutes, then stir in anchovies, if using.
If using store-bought stock or broth, add to a pan and reduce over medium-low heat for about 8 minutes, then stir in anchovies, if using.
Arrange fish and shrimp on top of potatoes in pan, season with salt and pepper. Drizzle fortified stock or reduced store-bought stock or broth on top, add shaved garlic, handful thyme leaves, bay leaves, and lemon zest, douse with vermouth or wine, cover with foil and roast until fish is flaky and lightly browned and shrimp is opaque, 7 to 8 minutes, then uncover and bake 2 to 3 minutes more. Spoon pan juices over top, then sprinkle with fresh herbs like thyme and parsley, and squirt with lemon juice halves.
For the garlic bread, if making, put bread on a foil-lined baking sheet. Melt butter or heat up olive oil, and add dried herbs and garlic, about a ½ palmful of each herb. Brush onto bread and sprinkle with red pepper flakes and grated parm. Broil until crisp and golden.
To serve, spoon seafood into shallow bowls, top with veg, mop up roasting pan juices with garlic bread (optional, but highly recommended!) and serve alongside.
