Seafood Brodetto with Couscous

Name: Seafood Brodetto with Couscous
Yield: serves 6
Ingredients: 2 pounds skinless grouper fillet; 1 teaspoon coarse sea salt or kosher salt, or to taste; 1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil, plus more for finishing; Flour for dredging (1/2 cup or so); 1 tablespoon chopped garlic; 1 large onion, finely chopped (2 cups); 1/2 teaspoon peperoncino flakes, or to taste; 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon, or to taste; 2 tablespoons tomato paste; 2 cups canned Italian plum tomatoes, preferably San Marzano, crushed by hand; 3 cups water; 1/3 cup extra-virgin olive oil; 1 teaspoon coarse sea salt or kosher salt; 2 bay leaves, preferably fresh; 2 1/2 cups quick-cooking couscous; A heavy-bottomed saucepan or sauté pan with high sides, 13 inches or wider, with a cover; A heavy 3-quart saucepan with a cover, for the couscous

December 14, 2011

Anna Cornino Santoro’s memorable couscous with scorpion-fish brodetto inspired me to create this version when I got home. I use grouper, a delicious fish, widely available and easy to work with (and certainly with fewer bones than scorpion fish!). Making couscous by hand, as Anna does, is not feasible for most of us, I realize. Fortunately, good-quality packaged couscous is in every supermarket these days. Almost all commercial couscous is precooked, so it takes barely 5 minutes to make a flavorful, fluffy base for the brodetto.

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