Classic Spanish Fish Stew Recipe

Winter days (or when the temperature drops even just a few degrees) are perfect to turn on the stove, grab your favorite pot and prepare a good stew.

Here we will talk about Spanish fish stew, a staple dish from Andalusian cuisine, which is not only delicious but also easy to make.

Keep reading this article to learn how to make this fish recipe, some changes that you can make to the ingredients, plus some extra tips for storing and serving.

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Pssst…!!?? You can’t get enough of Spanish soup recipes? Have a look at my other posts: 

• Caldo de pescado
• Spanish Seafood Soup
• Spanish baked bean soup

Background of the Dish

The stew is one of the oldest dishes in the history of Spanish cuisine: stew recipe records date back to the XV century.

Like other dishes such as the Spanish Fish Soup, the Spanish fish stew became popular because it was cheap to make (it could even be made with just cheap fish and water), or it could be made into a more sophisticated and fancy version.

To this day, anyone can enjoy a good hot plate of Spanish fish stew,  making it at home or finding it in any restaurant in Andalusia all year round.

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Things You’ll Need for Spanish Fish Stew

To make this Spanish stew you need hake (or other types of white fish), onion, garlic, potatoes, and tomatoes.

There are other fantastic Spanish fish recipes that you can try and make, such as Bacalao croquettes or Spanish fried fish.

Ingredients

• 1.5 kg hake
• 1 onion
• 1 garlic clove
• 2 potatoes
• 1 tablespoon chopped fresh parsley
• 3 tomatoes (ripe)
• 1 teaspoon paprika
• 1 cup (250 ml) water
• Extra virgin olive oil
• Salt and pepper (to taste)

How to Make Spanish Fish Stew – Step by Step Guide

1. To start with this Spanish fish stew recipe, cut the onion into small cubes and mince the garlic. Wash, peel, and dice the potatoes (set them aside for now).

2. Take a large pot to the stove at medium heat, and heat a drizzle of olive oil. Once it is hot add the onion and garlic.

3. Now sauté the vegetables for about 5 minutes.

4. Then add the potatoes to the pot.

5. Continue cooking, stirring occasionally, while the potatoes get golden on the outside and the onion continues to fry.

6. Then, remove the pot from the heat and add the paprika. Stir to integrate it with the rest of the ingredients and put it back on the fire.

7. After that, wash the tomato, cut it into small cubes, or grate it and remove the skin.

8. Now you can add the peeled and grated or chopped tomato, and the chopped parsley and cook for another 10 minutes, stirring to prevent burning.

9. Put the water in the Spanish stew pot. When it starts to boil, cook over medium heat for 15 minutes with the pot covered. If your pot doesn’t have a lid you can cover it with a round baking tray.

10. Take the piece of hake and cut it into 8 pieces (or buy it already cut into pieces).

11. Put salt and pepper to taste, then add the pieces of hake to the pot, cook for 5 more minutes, then turn off the heat.

12. For the final step, keep the fish and potatoes in the covered pot with the stove off for 5 minutes more before serving. Serve the stewed fish hot.

Substitution of Ingredients

The great advantage of fish stew recipes is that you can play a lot with the ingredients to prepare it.

If you don’t like the combination of potatoes and fish, you can remove the potato, use another tuber vegetable such as sweet potatoes, or yam, or skip it from the ingredient list.

Hake is probably the most popular Spanish fish, and without a doubt, it is perfect for this recipe (because of its flavor, texture, and cooking time), even so, you can use any other white meat fish.

You can transform it into a Spanish seafood stew if you prefer and do it with shrimp, crab, scallops, etc.

Or you can try other delicious seafood or fish recipes like the Marmitako recipe, aka Spanish tuna stew, or the Spanish sea bass recipe.

Tips on Serving Spanish Fish Stew

The ideal time to serve this Spanish fish dish is at lunch and dinner.

As with other Spanish potato recipes, some people avoid serving it at dinner because they feel heavy or it takes time to digest (due to the carbs in the potatoes), but that does not happen with this recipe.

Being boiled and in small quantities, you can eat this Spanish fish stew for dinner also without any risk of feeling bad.

The Spanish fish stew is perfect to eat with a glass of water (so you feel all the flavors well), or white or red wine but with a low flavor profile (so it doesn’t overshadow the dish).

How to Store Spanish Fish Stew

When you finish making this potato and fish recipe you can choose to store it in the fridge or the freezer.

If you store this fish stew with potatoes in the fridge it can last up to 3 days (you must store it in a covered container).

To freeze this Spanish fish stew you must also put it in a covered container (or in many like that you freeze it in portions), then it can last in the freezer for up to 15 days.

In both cases, as soon as you finish making the fish stew recipe you should let it come to room temperature before putting it in a covered container.

Recipe Card: Spanish Fish Stew

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