Spanish-style fish stew
Matt Tebbutt’s paprika-spiced seafood medley would make the perfect al fresco lunch with friends.
Ingredients
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- 1 onion, sliced
- 1 fennel bulb, sliced
- 6 garlic cloves, sliced
- 1 tbsp sweet smoked paprika
- 125ml/4fl oz amontillado sherry
- 1 large potato, peeled and diced
- 2 red chillies, sliced
- 1 loose handful great-quality Spanish black olives
- 4 tomatoes, chopped
- 1 tbsp fresh chopped oregano
- 2 cod or hake fillets (200g/7oz each), cut into 4 pieces
- fish stock or water, to cover
- ½ lemon, thinly sliced
- 1 handful mussels, cleaned and beards removed
- 8 king prawns in shell, tail and shell removed head kept on
- 2 medium squids, cut into triangles and scored
- 1 bunch fresh parsley, chopped
- 2 slices sourdough, toasted and rubbed with garlic
Method
Preheat the oven to 240C/220C Fan/Gas 9. Pour some olive oil into a large, deep ovenproof frying pan set over a low heat. Add the onion, fennel and garlic, then cook for 10 minutes. Add the paprika and fry for a few minutes before pouring in the sherry. Sizzle and reduce, then add the potatoes, chilli, olives and tomatoes.
Cook for 10 minutes, then stir through the oregano. Add the fish fillets and season with salt, then pour in enough fish stock or water to come three-quarters of the way up the side of the fillets. Add a few lemon slices on top, then bake in the oven for 10 minutes.
Meanwhile, discard any mussels with broken shells and any that refuse to close when tapped. Add all the shellfish to the pan, top with the toasted sourdough, drizzle liberally with olive oil and return to the oven for another 10 minutes until all cooked through. Discard any mussels that remain closed before serving.