Recipe OF THE WEEK

Called suquet, it was originally made by fishermen who would prepare this simple stew on their boats

CATALAN FISH STEW Serves 6-8

100ml olive oil 1 large onion, finely chopped 2 garlic cloves, crushed 2 x 400g tins chopped tomatoes Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper 1 litre fresh fish stock 600g new potatoes 600g mix of monkfish, turbot and bream, large pieces

For the picada:

100ml olive oil 2 garlic cloves, crushed 2 small onions, chopped 1 slice white sourdough or bread 2 squares dark chocolate, grated 20g blanched almonds Handful of parsley

1 Heat 75ml oil in large pan, add onions, soften for 15mins. Add garlic for 2mins. Add tomatoes and seasoning. Simmer 30–45 mins until thick.

2 Make picada: Heat a little oil in a pan, fry garlic and onions until soft. Remove from pan.

3 Heat a little more oil. Fry bread and add to onions/garlic with rest of ingredients. Whiz in blender with oil to make paste.

4 Heat tomato mix and stock to simmer. Twist knife tip in potatoes to crack open, add to pan for 15mins until just softening.

5 Heat remaining oil, dust fish in flour and fry until lightly golden (1-2mins).

6 Once potatoes are nearly cooked, add picada to the sauce and stir well. Nestle fish into pan, cook for 4–5mins until sauce thickens and fish is just cooked. Serve with bread. Catalonia: Recipes from Barcelona and Beyond by José Pizarro (Hardie Grant). Photography © Laura Edwards