I hardly ever cook fish at home and as one of my clients is a pescatorian I have been having to cook quite alot of fish as well as vegetarian meals.
I came across this recipe in the River Cafe book, and adapted it slightly, by using a shellfish stock that I had frozen the other night (leftover from my Langoustine Bisque Pasta). It was so delicious and so easy to make that I highly recommend you make it for your next dinner party. You can add whatever different fish you like to it, I added Turbot, monkfish, scallops, langoustines and mussels to it. I served it with a crispy baguette to mop up the sauce with as well as a green salad.
Mediterranean Fish Stew
Serves 6
400g monk fish, portioned into bite size pieces
400g king klip, portioned into bite sized pieces
1.2 kg mussels, cleaned (discard any mussels that are already opened)
6 prawns, shelled
6 scallops
4 baby squid, sliced into rings
Olive oil
1 onion, finely chopped
2 fennel bulbs, sliced thinly
4 garlic cloves, crushed
2 tsp (10ml) fennel seeds
2 dried chillies (optional)
1 bottle of tomato passata
800ml fish stock (I used the leftover stock from my Langoustine Bisque Pasta)
Splash of white wine
Handfull of parsley
salt and pepper
Lemon wedges to serve
Crusty bread to serve
To make the tomato sauce base:
Heat a good glug of olive oil in a heavy based pot and gently saute the onion, fennel bulb slices, garlic, fennel seeds and chillies for a few minutes or until the veg are beginning to soften.
Add the tomato passata and stock and cover with lid.
Season with a little salt and pepper and allow to simmer gently for about 45 minutes or until the sauce is thick and pungent. Be careful not to let it stick, so give it a stir every 15 minutes or so.
To prepare stew:
Once your tomato base is prepared, heat a little more olive oil in a pot and once hot, add the cleaned mussels together with a good splash of white wine. Cover and steam over high heat, shaking every so often, for about 3-5 minutes or until all the shells have opened. Discard any that remain closed.
When cool, remove half the mussels from their shells and strain about 3/4 cup of the mussel juices into the prepared tomato sauce.
Bring the tomato sauce up to a simmer and gently poach all your fish for about 3-4 minutes or until just cooked.
Add your cooked mussels and season with Salt, pepper and a squeeze of lemon juice.
Garnish with chopped parsley and serve immediately (making sure you dish everyone a little bit of every fish) together with some crusty bread to help mop up any leftover sauce.
