All Cremat de Vilanova

All Cremat de Vilanova is Catalan, from the coast around Vilanova i la Geltru, and it is a fish stew built on garlic taken almost too far. That is what makes it this dish and not a softer suquet from the next port. No potato here. The broth stays clean, sharp with the sea, and the dark garlic gives it depth without making it heavy.

The method that decides it is the garlic. Slice it, cook it in olive oil until it turns deep chestnut at the edges, then stop before it goes black. Burnt in the name does not mean bitter. It means dark, sweet, a little smoky, with the raw bite cooked out. Add the tomato right then and let it catch the oil, because tomato stops the garlic and pulls the whole base together.

Use the fish your market gives you: monkfish, hake, sea bass, cod, or another firm white fish that will hold in pieces. If you can get small rockfish for stock, good. If not, make a quick stock with fish bones and shells, or use a light unsalted fish stock from the shop and be careful with salt. No hace falta haber pisado España. What you need is fresh fish, real olive oil, and the nerve to let the garlic go dark. Siempre sale, si lo sigues.

In the Margin beside this one I wrote only one warning: do not wander off while the garlic cooks. It goes from right to ruined while you are looking for a spoon.