Fish stew is a tasty warming dish. This recipe is easy to put together but smart enough for entertaining friends. As with so many classic dishes there are many different versions with a myriad of local adaptations and preferences. So focus on the fact that this is quick easy and delicious you can the adapt the ingredients to your preferences or to what is looking good in the shops.

Preparation time will be about 10 minutes allow a further 20 minutes for cooking time. Quantities listed below are for four people.

Ingredients For Fish Stew

550g skinned and cubed whitefish fillets (cod, coley, pollock, hake) from Walter Purlis & Sons
200g mussels
15ml sunflower oil
225g carrots
1 large onion
1 clove garlic
1  can peeled chopped tomatoes
6 black olives
1 bay leaf
Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper to season
Chopped parsley to garnish

Cooking Method For Fish Stew

Peel the carrots and cut them into sticks. Slice the onion and crush the garlic.

Heat the oil in a saucepan and add all these ingredients, then cook for several minutes allowing the vegetables to soften and cook.

Next stir in the tinned tomatoes, olives and add a bay leaf, and season to taste. Allow the tomatoes to cook well and the sauce to thicken slightly.

Add the fish into the liquor and cook until done which will be about another 8 minutes or less. Large square cubes will take longer than thinner tranches of fish. You can see when the fish is cooked as it will become opaque and start to flake.  NB There is further cooking time with the mussels.

The mussels go in last and only need about 2-4 minutes to open and cook. Discard any that do not open. A few shells in each dish looks attractive however there will probably be too many shells crowding the dish so take some of the mussels out of them.

Sprinkle on the chopped parsley and serve right away in hot bowls with lots of crusty bread.