“Mar i Muntanya” for an evergrowing crowd!

It was going to be a “Sarsuela” but the number of guests was increasing as the day went on, so I decided to prepare a different dish to make it a bit easier and more filling. There were quite a few youths ready to eat a lot!!

That was “at home” at the Levy – Hirshmann’s, in the Upper West Manhattan. Nell was responsible for all the mess but it was worth it!

So here goes the "Mar i muntanya" (sea and mountain)! Doesn’t it look ready to eat?



What did I buy for 12 people?

· Four pounds of shrimp (with their heads, of course!!)
· One bag of mussels.
· Two pounds of scallops
· Three packages of organic boneless chicken. (Breasts and thighs)

What else did I need?
· Olive oil
· One big onion
· A small tomato
· Ten cloves of garlic
· Toasted almonds
· A fish bouillon

Again, I was too busy trying to get things ready that I did not take the pictures throughout the process: Fortunately our friend Roy did a better job, and most of the pictures are his.

I’ll try to explain how I proceeded the best I can!

1. I washed the shrimp, separated their heads and removed the skin. I made a fish broth with the heads, the skin, water and the bouillon as I did with the "fideuà".



2. I put olive oil in the pan and fried the shrimp slightly, removed it; the chicken slowly until it browned on both sides, and finally the scallops. I added the water the scallops had released to the fish broth.
3. I removed everything from the pan except the olive oil and added a little more. Chopped the onion and fried it until it was caramelized. Then I added the tomato grinded, a pinch of sugar and a pinch of salt and let the whole sauce become a paste.
4. I, then, cooked the mussels separately until they opened
5. I added all the chicken and covered it with the fish broth and let it cook for a while.
6. I toasted almonds and smashed them together with the garlic and added them to the pan.
7. Finally I placed the mussels on top and the dish was ready! (see above)

There were other very important contributions to the dinner:

Richard’s “Cosmo” cocktail




Danny and Marcela’s white wine




Reiko’s Daicon Salad:



Nell’s “Insalata Caprese”





Brigette’s broiled asparagus!



And Marcela 2 and the Hirshman’s cakes!





Can you imagine? I’m sure you’d have liked to join the wonderful crowd!







Actually the “Mar i Muntanya” I make at home is different for I make it out of small meatballs and cuttlefish. Another version is the one I made for my friends Caroline and Richard at the Jensen’s with meatballs, shrimp and scallops. Really nice too!





Enjoy

The unfaithful cook