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Basque-Style Fish and Clams in Parsley-Garlic Sauce
Merluza en salsa verde con almejas, or hake in green sauce with clams, is a classic dish from the Basque Country in northern Spain. Fish fillets are gently simmered until flaky in a parsley, garlic and olive oil sauce, then are finished with cooked clams in their shells. At the seaside restaurant Txoko Getaria, we tasted an especially delicious version in which the oceanic notes of the fish and clams were in perfect balance with the fresh flavors and luxe character of the sauce. Txoko takes a nontraditional, multistep approach to preparing the dish: the fish is parcooked on the grill and the sauce is made by stirring a fragrant pesto-like blend of parsley, garlic, almonds, olive oil and Idiazabal cheese into a base comprised of flour-thickened, oil-and-garlic-enriched fish stock. We adapted their formula and devised a method that requires only a food processor and a skillet but yields delicious results in only about an hour. The cubanelle pepper (or jalapeño chili) in our recipe is a stand-in for hard-to-source Basque guindilla chilies. And if you cannot find Idiazabal cheese, a Basque sheep’s-milk cheese with a subtle smokiness, manchego is a good substitute. Either skin-on or skinless fish fillets work here, but try to choose pieces that are uniformly about 1 inch thick.
4
Servings
Don’t omit the cheese. The pairing of fish and cheese is indeed unusual but the Idiazabal lends complex flavor without tasting distinctly cheesy. After adding the fish to the skillet, don’t allow the poaching liquid to reach a full simmer; slow, gentle bubbling is best to ensure the fillets are perfectly cooked.
50 minutes
Ingredients
-
1
ounce Idiazabal or manchego cheese (without rind), cut into rough 1-inch chunks
-
¼
cup sliced almonds, toasted
Directions
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01In a food processor, combine the cheese, almonds and ½ teaspoon salt. Process until finely chopped, about 20 seconds. Add the parsley and process until chopped, about 10 seconds. With the machine running, add the ½ cup oil, then process until smooth, about 1 minute, scraping the bowl as needed; set aside.
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This was a fun dish. I used a jalapeño, and it was not a spicy dish in any way. We weren’t able to get hake or grouper, and while cod was available, I figured we’d try some halibut and some sea bass. Both were excellent. It’s a very forgiving dish, in my opinion, because precisely measuring each of the ingredients is not critical to the end result. I definitely added some salt at the end, as the recipe suggests. Overall, this struck me as a what-you-see-you-get recipe, and who wouldn’t want this? Spanish clams and fish in a parsley/wine pesto? If you’ve made it to this written review, rest assured, you’ll like it.