Recipe: Mar i Muntanya (Chicken and Prawn Ragout)

Today on Good Food, Evan talks to Colman Andrews about his 1981 book Catalan Cuisine. Two decades after it’s publication date the book remains just as relevant and reminds us how creative traditional Catalan cuisine is – even before Ferran Adrià.

The Catalan version of “surf and turf” is called Mar i Muntanya (sea and mountain). Keep reading for a Mar i Muntanya recipe from Colman’s book that features chicken and prawns…

Mar i Muntanya (Chicken and Prawn Ragout)

(From Colman Andrews’ Catalan Cuisine)

TO SERVE 4 (AS MAIN COURSE)

1 chicken, cut into 8 serving pieces

Olive oil

8-12 prawns (scampi) or large shrimp, heads and shells on

2 onions, chopped

4 tomatoes, seeded and grated or peeled, seeded, and chopped

½ cup dry white wine

Dash of Pernod

4 cloves garlic, minced

2 sprigs parsley, minced

1 slice fried bread

1 ounce chocolate grated

8 almonds, blanched and roasted

Salt and pepper

In a cassola or Dutch oven, sauté the chicken pieces in a small amount of oil until golden-brown. Remove them, drain, and set aside.

In the same oil, sauté the prawns in their shells until bright red. Remove them, drain, and set aside.

Pour off the excess fat, and then, in the same cassola, make a sofregit# of onions and tomatoes.

Return the chicken pieces to the cassola, and add 2 cups water. Bring to a boil, then reduce the heat, and simmer, uncovered, for about 20 minutes.

Add the wine and Pernod, return to a boil, then reduce the heat again, and continue simmering. After 10 minutes, return the prawns to the cassola, then simmer for 20 minutes more or until the chicken is very tender, adding more water if necessary.

Meanwhile, make a picada# of garlic, parsley, bread, chocolate, and almonds, moistened with a bit of cooking liquid.

About 10 minutes before the cooking is completed, salt and pepper to taste, then stir in the picada.