>suquet

Dinner at B44 in San Francisco last night with visitors from Annapolis, Maryland, before we went over to the Cutting Ball Theatre to catch a preview of a play written by Georg Buchner called Woyzeck, written in 1836.

I had a suquet (Catalan stew). Suquet of monkfish, shrimp and fresh mushrooms. It wasn't a soupy stew. Shrimp (heads intact), fresh plump mushrooms and monkfish pieces stood on top of, rather than in, the thick and richly flavored reddish puree. There were also a few paper-thin slices of white, abalone-textured seafood. (But why wouldn't it be mentioned on the menu?) Except for the monkfish which I prefer firm rather than tender, it was a good dish.

As far as I could tell, the suquet base was made with mostly tomatoes, garlic, onions, potatoes, red pepper, parsley, plus perhaps one or two mystery peppery spices, and even saffron.