Rich tomato shellfish stew
A simple take on classic shellfish stew, flavoured with fennel, chilli, garlic, bay and smoked paprika.
Ingredients
- 2 tbsp rapeseed oil
- 1 onion, finely chopped
- 1 fennel bulb, thinly sliced
- 2 celery sticks, thinly sliced
- 1 tsp smoked paprika
- 2 x 400g cans chopped tomatoes
- 3 tbsp tomato purée
- 1 bay leaf
- 3 garlic cloves, finely chopped
- 1 red chilli, seeds removed and finely chopped
- 125ml/4fl oz dry white wine
- 1 litre/1¾ pints fish stock
- 3 waxy potatoes, cut into 2cm/¾in chunks
- sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
- 12 mussels, scrubbed and debearded
- 16 large raw prawns
- 1 large handful fresh flatleaf parsley, roughly chopped
- crusty bread, to serve
Method
Preheat a large sauté pan over a medium heat until hot. Add the oil and, when it is hot, add the onion, fennel and celery and sweat for 10 minutes, or until softened.
Stir in the smoked paprika, then the tomatoes, tomato purée, bay leaf, garlic, chilli and wine. Cook for 15 minutes, or until reduced slightly.
Pour in the stock, then stir in the potatoes. Simmer for 15 minutes, or until just cooked, then season with salt and pepper.
Discard any mussels with broken shells and any that refuse to close when tapped. Add the mussels to the pan and cook for 3 minutes, or until opened, then add the prawns and cook for a further 2–3 minutes, or until all the seafood is cooked through. Discard any mussels that remain closed.
Serve immediately in deep, warmed bowls, sprinkled with parsley, with crusty bread to mop up the juices.
