FOOD
Or: What to Make Now That You're Obsessed With Ibiza
If you read our Ibiza piece, you'll know we mentioned bullit de peix and moved on very casually despite the dish being on our mind every second of the day since we ate it. Its on the menu at almost every restaurant we name-checked and one of the most authentic dishes on the island today.
So we're making it. Tonight, actually, which is either very on brand or very impulsive depending who you ask.
Bullit de peix translates to "boiled fish," which is the most boring possible name for one of the best things you'll eat all year. It started life as a fisherman's dish, whatever didn't sell got thrown in a pot on the boat with potatoes and any other ingredients that were available at the time. Traditionally it's a two part meal. Part one is the fish and potatoes, finished with aioli and eaten whilst the broth is being used to cook the rice which is then finished with cuttlefish or squid.
The fish is usually a mix, not just one, rotja (scorpion fish), anfós (grouper), gallo (John Dory) if you can get your hands on it. If you can't, ask your fishmonger what's firm, white and won't fall apart in a pot.
Bullit de Peix
Serves 4
Ingredients
- 3 tbsp olive oil
- 3 garlic cloves, finely chopped
- 1 onion, finely chopped
- 2 large tomatoes, grated
- 1 bay leaf
- 1 green pepper, diced
- 4 medium potatoes, peeled and cut into thick wedges
- 1 litre fish stock
- A pinch of saffron threads
- 800g mixed firm white fish (grouper, John Dory, scorpion fish, monkfish — whatever's freshest), cleaned and cut into large pieces
- Salt and black pepper
- Aioli, to serve
Method
Heat the olive oil in a large, heavy pot. Add the garlic, onion, pepper, tomato and bay leaf, and fry gently until it breaks down into a sauce, you want it soft and fragrant, not just softened. This is doing all the work later, so don't rush it.
Add the potato wedges and stir them through the sofrito, taking care not to break them up. Let them fry for a couple of minutes so they soak up some of that flavour before any liquid goes in.
Pour in the fish stock, add the saffron, and bring it to a gentle simmer. Leave it for about 15 minutes, until the potatoes are nearly tender.
Season the fish with salt and pepper, then lower it into the pot. Don't stir it otherwise it might break, just let it poach gently for 10–15 minutes, until cooked through. Stirring at this point is how you end up with fish soup instead of fish stew, and that's a different dish entirely.
Serve straight from the pot, plated with a generous spoonful of aioli on top.
The onto the rice. Don't tip the broth away, strain it, and you've got the base for arroz a banda — rice cooked entirely in the fish stock with all that flavour soaked into every grain.
Ingredients
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 1 small squid or cuttlefish, chopped (optional, but traditional)
- 1 garlic clove, finely chopped
- 300g short-grain rice (paella rice if you have it)
- 750ml of the reserved bullit de peix broth
- A pinch of saffron, if your broth needs more colour
- Salt to taste
Method
In a wide, shallow pan, heat the olive oil and fry the squid or cuttlefish with the garlic until just turning golden, a couple of minutes, no more.
Add the rice and stir so every grain gets coated in the oil. Pour in the reserved broth, give it a stir, then leave it alone. Don't stir it again, stirring at this stage is how you end up with mush instead of rice.
Simmer for about 18-20 minutes, until the liquid's absorbed and the rice is tender. Taste for salt before serving, since the broth will already carry a lot of flavour from the fish and sofrito.
Notes: every Ibizan family does this slightly differently, some add green beans, some swap the saffron for paprika, some throw in cuttlefish for extra flavour. Once you've made it the traditional way, you'll know exactly where you want to take it.