spanish fisherman’s stew

I saw this recipe on Tobie & Matt’s Spanish show on the Lifestyle channel – tis an ‘authentic’ Spanish fish stew.

Ingredients

• Olive oil
• Garlic – 7 cloves (sounds like a lot, but it is worth it)
• 1/2 green capsicum, diced
• 2-3 large ripe tomatoes
• 3 medium size potatoes, cut into 1 cm rounds
• 2 cups (hot) vegetable or fish stock
• flat leaf (continental) parsley
• 2 fillets of white fish (cod, snapper, ling, or whatever looks good) cut into small cubes
• S&P & lots more olive oil

Method

1. Roughly chop 4 cloves of garlic and all the capsicum into small bite size pieces
2. Put enough olive oil in the pan to coat the bottom of the pan, and place on med-high heat
3. When the olive oil is hot, add the garlic and capsicum and stir
4. Meanwhile, cute the tomatoes in half and grate (yes, grate!) the tomato (you should be left with around 1 cup of tomato puree, no skin).
5. Saute the garlic and capsicum until it slightly changes colour, then add the tomato puree (stand back as it may spit at you!).
6. Stir on high heat for 1-2 minutes (you should notice the tomato change colour from dark red to a lighter orange/red)
7. Add the potatoes and pour over enough stock so that the potatoes are covered. Add some parsley, cover and leave for 10-12 minutes on high heat until the potatoes are cooked
8. While the potatoes are cooking, crush 2 cloves of garlic in a mortar & pestle, then slowly drizzle in the olive oil to make an aoli (add some lemon juice and salt to taste). Tip: If you add the oil too quickly the aoli will split!
9. Once the potatoes are cooked, add the fish and cover for another 3-5 minutes (until the fish is cooked, it should flake easily)
10. Add a little pepper, salt and extra parsley to taste
11. Set aside for 3-5 minutes before serving (this will give the fish a chance to infuse the vegetables).
12. To serve, place the potato in the bowl, then layer over the fish, capsicum and tomato broth. Drizzle with the aoli and add a generous amount of parsley.

Cooking time/quantity

20 minutes, 2 serves

Variations

This would be great as a starter with some crusty bread, or add beans instead of potatoes for a quick version which is lower in calories.

If you don’t like capsicum, add another green vegetable like green beans, peas or squash.