When travelling around Spain, you are never short of a delicious regional fish stew to tuck into. Each region has their own twist on this delectable treat, with ingredients that reflect the best of produce from the region.
On this occasion, I am featuring a classic fish stew from the Catalan region, which combines fennel, chorizo, saffron and sweet paprika.
Ingredients
This dish can typically serve anywhere between 4-10 people by simply adding more seafood or accompanying with new potatoes and seasonal greens.
- 1kg of fresh mussels
- 1kg of fish - Ling, Monkfish, Cod, Flathead, Hake or Salmon all work (or any combination)
- 300 - 500g of fresh prawns. Cooked prawns also work in you are in a rush
- 2 Chorizo. I would recommend Rodrigues Brother Chorizo if you can get them
- 1 large Spanish onion
- 2 medium sized fennel bulbs
- 400g tin cherry tomatoes
- 2 cloves of garlic finely minced
- 1 fresh red chilli
- 1 tablespoon of fennel seeds (freshly ground in a mortal and pestle ideally)
- 1 teaspoon sweet paprika
- 1 tablespoon of fresh thyme leaves
- 1 teaspoon of Spanish saffron
- 3 fresh bay leaves
- 6 tablespoons of good quality olive oil. Plus extra oil to pan fry the fish
- 250 ml of fish stock
- 300 ml of dry white wine
- white flour
- salt flakes
- freshly ground black pepper
- slivered and roasted almonds (optional). I actually leave the almonds out.
Preparation
It is important to have all of the ingredients ready and prepared before you start.
Dice the fennel, onion and chorizo. Chop the garlic and chilli finely.
Dust the fish in flour, salt and pepper. Pan fry the fish in olive oil and set aside.
Clean and debeard the mussels. Bring 150ml of the dry whiter wine to the simmer in a sealable saucepan. Added the mussels to the wine and cook for 3 - 4 minutes, shaking the saucepan every minute. Discard any mussels that are damaged or fail to open. reserve the poaching liquid from the mussels
Peel, and devein the prawns.
Pan roast the almonds if using. Again, whilst this is traditional, I'd leave them out.
Cooking Method
- Heat the olive oil in a large pan and sauté chorizo until soft, but not brown. Add the onions and fennel and stir constantly until the onions are translucent and the fennel has softened.
- Add the chilli and ground fennel seeds to the pan and cook for a few minutes.
- Add the garlic and stir through for one minute.
- Add the paprika, thyme, saffron, bay leaves and tomatoes and cook until the sauce is thick and fragrant.
- Add the liquor from the mussels, the fish stock and remaining white wine and bring to a simmer.
- If you are using uncooked prawns, add them now and allow to colour. If using cooked prawns, add the prawns and fish pieces together and stir through, taking care not to break up the fish pieces.
- Add the cooked mussels and stir through until warmed through.
- If you are using almonds, fold them through now.
Served with loads of delicious crusty bread to mop up the sauce, and accompany with a quality Spanish white while. My wine recommendation would be a Verdejo from DO Rueda, a Godello from DO Valdeorras, or better still an Albarino from DO Rias Baixas. Enjoy!