Mediterranean Fish Stew Recipe

This delicious savoury stew is made rich with tomatoes and dry white wine - giving it the unmistakeable flavours of the med. We think the best bit is mopping up all those delicious juices with a good portion of garlic bread and accompanying it with a good glass of wine.

HOW TO MAKE MEDITERRANEAN FISH STEW

Ingredients

• 1tbsp olive oil
• 1 large onion, chopped
• 2 red peppers, cut into chunks
• 3 garlic cloves, crushed
• 1 large red chilli, finely chopped
• 100ml dry vermouth or white wine
• 400g can plum tomatoes
• 400g can cherry tomatoes
• 1 tbsp tomato purée
• 1½ tbsp brown sugar
• A small pinch of saffron
• 1 ciabatta loaf
• 120g garlic butter
• 3 tbsp dill, chopped
• Juice of 1 large lemon
• 300g white and brown crabmeat
• 500g salmon fillet, cubed
• 500g cleaned baby squid

Method

1. Heat the oven to 180C fan, gas 6. Heat the olive oil in a large casserole dish over a medium heat, add the onion and peppers, and fry gently for 5 minutes until everything is beginning to soften. Add the garlic and chilli and cook for a further 2 minutes. Pour over the vermouth and reduce the liquid by half.

2. Stir through the canned tomatoes, tomato purée, sugar and saffron. Bring to the boil, reduce to a simmer and cook gently for 10-15 minutes.

3. Slice the ciabatta halfway down into 8-10 slices. Put thin slices of the garlic butter in-between each gap. Wrap in foil, put on a baking tray and cook in the oven for 15 minutes or until the bread is crispy and the butter has melted.

4. Lower the heat of the casserole and stir through the dill and lemon juice; season to taste with salt and pepper. Stir through the crabmeat, add the chunks of fish and squid, cover with a lid and cook for a further 5 minutes. Ladle the stew into bowls and serve with chunks of the garlic bread.