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Zarzuela de mariscos is a Spanish seafood stew that uses lots of different seafoods, tomatoes, peppers and a picada, a sort of zippy herb pesto, right at the end. It’s tasty, easy to make and versatile.
My recipe is heavily influenced by one in the fantastic book The Foods and Wines of Spain, by Penelope Casas. I highly recommend all her books.
At its core, zarzuela de mariscos is a light seafood stew not unlike cioppino or my East African fish stew, albeit with different flavors. Any combination of seafood will work here, and fish can make an appearance, too.
A word on the name “zarzuela.” It’s unclear exactly how the word for a bush that lives in central Spain morphed into a Catalan stew, but hey, some things in life are just mysterious. The most common modern meaning of the word is for a sort of opera. Go figure.
Seafood For Zarzuela de Mariscos
Anything goes. Really. But get more than a couple if you can. The best zarzuela de mariscos essentially use the entire cast from “Finding Nemo.” That’s a joke, but I commonly see five or six different kinds in the pot.
Here I am using spot prawns, squid and Dungeness crab. Mussels, small scallops, clams and lobster are all good options, as are crawfish tails, smoked oysters, finely chopped whelk or conch, and any sort of shrimp you can imagine. If you do use fish, make it a bit player, not the star.
My advice is to go to the fish market and ask what’s freshest and go from there. Pick at least three.
Other Ingredients
If you are familiar with Spanish cuisine, you’ll recognize the Usual Suspects: paprika, saffron, garlic, tomatoes and peppers. White wine shows up, as does parsley and lemon.
There’s one other thing that distinguishes zarzuela de mariscos from other seafood stews: the picada.
A picada is a bit like a pesto: You pound almonds, parsley and garlic in a mortar and pestle, sometimes with a little lemon juice to let it flow better. This goes into the pot with the seafood and it all comes together quickly.
Serving and Storing
Crusty bread is a key accompaniment, but you could serve this alongside rice.
I like to make this one of many courses in a Spanish feast. Zarzuela de mariscos goes really well right before fish with green sauce or the paella-like Spanish mushroom rice. If you want a great appetizer before serving the stew, try making some salt cod fritters with saffron aioli.
As with many seafood dishes, this one doesn’t store well. Make it and eat it. If you have leftovers, you can slowly heat them on the stovetop in a covered pot the next day. They’ll be OK, but not as good as the first time you served them.
If you liked this recipe, please leave a ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ rating and a comment below; I’d love to hear how everything went. If you’re on Instagram, share a picture and tag me at huntgathercook.
Zarzuela de Mariscos
Ingredients
- A pinch of saffron
- 1/4 cup olive oil
- 1 small yellow onion, minced
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- Salt
- 1/2 pound large shrimp
- 1 dozen small clams in the shell (optional)
- 3 tablespoons brandy (optional)
- 3 peeled Roma tomatoes
- 3 roasted red peppers, chopped roughly
- 1 tablespoon paprika (sweet or smoked)
- 1 cup white wine
- 1/2 pound squid, cleaned and cut into rings
- 1/2 pound crabmeat
PICADA
- 1/4 cup slivered almonds, chopped
- 2 tablespoons chopped parsley
- 1 clove garlic, chopped
- Salt
- Juice of a lemon
Instructions
- Heat up a cup of water and crumble the saffron in it. Let this steep while you peel shrimp, cut vegetables, etc.
- Pound the almonds, salt and garlic in a mortar and pestle until it's starting to become a paste, then add the parsley and pound into a smoother paste.
- Heat the olive oil over medium-high heat in a large, heavy pot. Sauté the onion until transparent and soft, but not browned. Add the garlic and cook another minute. Sprinkle some salt over everything.
- Add the shrimp and clams, brandy, tomatoes and roasted red peppers. Stir well and when this starts cooking nicely, stir and add the paprika, the saffron water and the wine. Bring this to a boil quickly, then add the squid and crabmeat.
- Once all the clams have opened up, loosen the picada with the lemon juice and stir it into the pot. Serve at once with crusty bread.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
I had Zarzuela for the first time, on vacation in St Thomas. It was the finest thing I had, there, and I knew that I needed more! We and another 5 couples spent a great 5 days in a beach house, sharing cooking duties. Wanting to share something very special for the last night, I searched for a Zarzuela de Mariscos recipe, and was lucky to find this one! WOW! Sooo good! I made the triple batch. I included extra seafood (mussels and drum fish chunks) in addition to the shrimp, squid, clams, and jumbo lump crabmeat. Honestly, one of the best dishes I’ve made in over 40 years of cooking! Thanks for the recipe! It’s in the permanent rotation for special occasions!
I have been waiting all week to make this recipe! It is just so good. My salty taste buds made me add more and of course, I had gluten free baguette for this special occasion. love these recipes. Keep em’ coming!
This would seem to be a natural dish to include bay scallops as well, no? Or is there too much risk of overcooking them and turning them into pencil erasers?
Tom: Nope, bay scallops would be a good option. Just cook them for 5 minutes or so.
delish! I like the technique of soaking the saffron. Quick and easy recipe except for pealing romas and roasting peppers 🙂 will definitely make this again.
Deanna – I used jarred roasted peppers, really simplified the dish (think prep took me all of 10 minutes, mostly that roma peeling) and still delicious. Hopefully Hank doesn’t disapprove!
Thanks Hank, made it tonight with four mariscos. Perfect. The romas are a bit less than summery right now so simmered them a bit (chopped like peppers) first to break them down more. It’s a great winter-to-spring warmer without being too heavy, much appreciated.
Looks amazing and pretty simple. What type of white wine do you recommend? Our sherry selection in SD is very limited. Some spanish whites around so was thinking Godello.
Brennan: It would be fine with any dry white wine you want to drink — nothing spendy, but decent. I normally use an albarino.
Regarding the last part of step 4, I’d imagine at the point of coming to a boil, you’d want to reduce it to a simmer. No? Looking forward to making this.
Tom: Yes, absolutely. A bare simmer.
I cant wait to make this. Its on my list for this week. I love your recipes that I have tried so far, I’m sure I will love this one too, Thanks so much, Linda
Hank,
Another Great Recipe. On the list for Friday (I have the day off).
Have a Good Week.
Tad