Bullit de Peix Eivissenc

Bullit de Peix is Ibizan, from Eivissa in the Balearic Islands: firm white fish and potatoes cooked in a saffron-tinted broth, eaten first with allioli, then followed by rice cooked in that same broth. One catch, two courses. That is what makes it itself and not just another coastal fish stew.

The method that decides it is the boil, which must not become a beating. Make a clean fish broth first, then let the potatoes cook until nearly tender before the fish goes in. Fish cooks quickly and forgives very little. Keep the pot at a low tremble, lift the pieces as soon as they open at the bone, and the flesh stays sweet instead of turning cottony.

If you are far from Ibiza, no hace falta haber pisado España. Use firm white fish on the bone: monkfish, grouper, snapper, black sea bass, or sea bream. Hake works only if you add it at the very end. What changes is the broth: without Mediterranean rockfish it will be a little less mineral and deep, so ask for heads and collars, and do not use salmon, tuna, or mackerel. Oily fish makes a heavy broth, and this dish wants clean strength.

My note in the Margin for this one is short: fish last, rice after. Obvious, yes, but only after you've watched good fish break apart because you were fussing with it. Leave it be. The broth does the carrying, the allioli gives it bite, and the rice takes what is left. Nothing wasted, tal como se hace allí.