Provençal Fish Stew

by Sophie Grigson
from Good Food Bites

For a flavourful seafood dish try Sophie Grigson's version of a classic French recipe, filled with Mediterranean flavours

Servings: 6
Level of difficulty: Easy
Preparation Time: 25 minutes
Cooking Time: 25 minutes

Ingredients
2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
4 Shallots, thinly sliced
3 garlic clove, chopped
1 tbsp coriander seeds
800g canned chopped tomatoes
2 tbsp tomato paste
1-2 tbsp Sugar
3 tbsp Pernod or Noilly Prat
2 strips dried orange peel
1 large sprig of Thyme
Salt , and freshly ground pepper
300ml fish stock
500g raw mussels, or clams, scrubbed clean
700g white fish fillets, cut into 4cm pieces
340g Squid , cleaned and sliced into rings

Method
1. Heat the olive oil in a large, heavy-based saucepan. Add in the shallot, garlic and coriander seeds and fry gently until the onion is tender and translucent, around 5 minutes.

2. Add the chopped tomatoes, tomato paste, sugar, Pernod or Noilly Prat, orange peel, thyme and a little salt and pepper and simmer down until thick.

3. Now stir in the fish stock and bring up to the boil.

4. Reduce the heat, simmer for 2 minutes, taste and adjust the seasoning and your stew base is ready.

5. Bring the base back to the boil. Add the mussels, cover and cook for about 3 minutes.

6. Now add the fish and the squid, cover again and simmer gently for a final 2-3 minutes until the mussels have all opened. Serve at once.

Cooks Notes:
Regarding the fish, Sophie recommends taking what is available and looking good