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1
Warm the olive oil in a wide, heavy pan over a low-to-medium flame. Add the onions and cook, stirring regularly, for at least 30 minutes. When the onions have collapsed entirely and turned a deep golden colour, add the tomatoes (and brandy if using) and continue cooking until the mixture is concentrated, almost dry, and pulls away from the sides of the pan — a deep reddish-brown jammy mass. The sofregit is ready when no liquid pools around it and the oil begins to separate at the edges.
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2
Pour in the white wine and raise the heat briefly to cook off the alcohol — the sharp raw smell of wine should disappear, replaced by a mellow, rounded aroma.
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3
Add the fish stock and saffron. Bring to a gentle simmer and cook for 10 minutes to allow the saffron to colour and the flavours to meld. The broth should be a translucent reddish-amber; taste it — it must not taste of raw flour or unintegrated tomato.
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4
While the broth simmers, prepare the picada. In a mortar, pound the fried garlic cloves to a paste, then add the fried almonds and bread and work to a coarse, cohesive mass. Add the parsley leaves and pound until incorporated. If using saffron in the picada, add it now. The finished picada should be a dense, fragrant paste — it must smell strongly of garlic and toasted nut.
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5
Reduce the broth to a bare tremble — never a boil. Add the monkfish or other firm-fleshed fish first. After 2–3 minutes, add the clams. After a further minute, add the lighter fish fillets. The fish is done when the firm flesh yields to gentle pressure from a spoon and the clams have opened; discard any clams that remain shut.
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6
Stir the picada into the broth 5 minutes before serving — no earlier. The paste will dissolve into the liquid, thickening it perceptibly and deepening its colour. Taste for seasoning. The broth is ready when it coats the back of a spoon lightly and carries the full flavour of nut, garlic, saffron, and reduced tomato simultaneously.