CIOPPINO WITH FENNEL AND SAFFRON
A wonderfully warming Italian/American dish for a crowd served with lots of crusty bread to mop up the delicious broth. Serves 8 500g raw half-shell mussels
60ml (¼ cup) olive oil, plus more for finishing the broth A pinch of saffron threads
A handful of fresh thyme sprigs
1 large onion, peeled, halved and thinly sliced
1 large fennel bulb, fronds removed and reserved for garnish, and bulb thinly sliced
3 large cloves garlic
5ml (1 tsp) fine sea salt
2 x 400g cans of diced tomatoes
500ml (2 cups) dry white wine (such as sauvignon blanc) Reserved broth from cooking the mussels, see below 500ml (2 cups) vegetable stock
1 bay leaf
500g sustainable white fish, cut into 2.5cm chunks
250g de-veined prawns keeping head and shell on A handful of parsley leaves and fennel fronds
Freshly ground black pepper
Lemon wedges Place the mussels in a steamer basket or colander set in a pot over 500ml (2 cups) of water. Cover and bring to a simmer until mussels are just cooked — don’t overcook them. Remove mussels, strain and reserve the liquid.
In a large soup pot, heat the oil and saffron over medium heat until the oil shimmers, then add the thyme, onion, and fennel. Cook, stirring frequently, until onion and fennel are tender, 10 minutes, then stir in the garlic, cook for 1 minute, and add the salt, tomatoes, white wine, mussels steaming liquid, vegetable stock and bay leaf. Bring the soup to a simmer and cook, partially covered, for 20 minutes.
Add the fish and continue to simmer until cooked through, 3-5 minutes. Add the prawns and mussels and cook to heat them through. Taste for seasoning, adding more salt if you feel the soup needs it.
Ladle the soup into wide bowls and top with a good drizzle of olive oil, a sprinkling of parsley leaves and fennel fronds, a few turns of black pepper and a squeeze of lemon. Adapted from
Simply Recipes
Kirsten Jooste Owner, La Marina Foods
Hake used to be a South African family staple which has become expensive and in short supply because the species is over-fished