Creamy shellfish and tomato stew

Serves 4-6

You will need:

● 15g butter

● 1 large onion, finely chopped

● 1 large celery stalk, finely chopped

● Salt and freshly ground black pepper

● 1 large clove of garlic, finely chopped

● 1 x 400g tin of tomatoes

● A large pinch of sugar

● 75ml dry white wine

● 200ml fish stock or chicken stock

● 300g filleted and skinned raw fish (such as round white fish and salmon)

● 100g raw prawns, shrimp or scallops, or a mixture

● 1kg raw mussels and cockles or clams in their shells

● 150ml cream

● Juice of ½ to 1 lemon

● 2 teaspoons chopped fresh chives

● 1 teaspoon chopped fennel

● 1 tablespoon chopped fresh parsley

1

Put the butter in a large saucepan over a medium heat and allow it to melt. Add the finely chopped onion and the finely chopped celery and season with some salt and freshly ground black pepper. Cover with a leftover butter wrapper, butter-side down, or a piece of parchment paper and the saucepan lid and turn the heat down to low. Cook for 8-10 minutes, stirring once or twice, until the onions and celery are tender.

2

Add the finely chopped garlic and cook for another couple of minutes, with the saucepan still covered. Next, remove the lid and the paper, turn the heat up to medium-high and add the tinned tomatoes, the sugar and the dry white wine. Cook the mixture, uncovered, over a low heat for about 10-15 minutes until the tomatoes have softened completely. Next, add the fish stock or the chicken stock, whichever you are using, and simmer again for 5 minutes.

3

Meanwhile, prepare the seafood. First, cut the filleted and skinned raw fish into 1cm -2cm chunks. Next, if you are using prawns, cut them in half if they are large, and cut the scallops into halves or quarters. If the shrimp are small, leave them whole; if they’re large, cut them in half. Finally, scrub the mussels and cockles or clams in a sink full of cold water. Discard any that are open and do not close when you tap the shell on the worktop.

4

You can prepare the shellfish stew up to this point if you wish — in which case, place the prepared seafood in the fridge and once the stew base with the tomatoes and stock has cooled, keep that in the fridge also.

5

About 5-10 minutes before you’re ready to eat, reheat the tomato and stock base and bring up to a simmer. Taste it for seasoning, adding a little more salt, freshly ground black pepper and sugar if necessary. Add all of the prepared seafood and gently mix it in to cover it with the tomato and stock mixture. Cover the saucepan with the lid until the mixture comes up to the boil. Continue to cook, covered, for about

6-8 minutes until the fish is all cooked and the mussels and cockles or clam shells are wide open.

6

Add in the cream, stirring gently to mix it in so as not to break up the fish. Next, add some of the lemon juice to season the stew and also add the chopped fresh chives, the chopped fennel and most of the chopped fresh parsley.

7

Serve the stew in warm bowls with a final scattering of chopped fresh parsley over the top. ●