Fish stew with paprika and almonds with baby potatoes and peas

This is one of my favourite fish recipes and such a great way to branch out for the same old grilled salmon and veg that so many of us get stuck cooking every week. It’s really easy and you can use what you have, it is more of a guide than a strict recipe!

Using ground almonds to thicken a tomato base is inspired by the fish stew in the Moro cookbook. It’s so clever, bringing a real creaminess and background almondy flavour that pairs really well with the fish. Despite having a very creamy texture, this is an incredibly healthy dish – heart-healthy nuts, loads of vegetables, and a delicious way to get more fish into our diets.

Serves 4

Ingredients

500g Baby potatoes

320g Frozen peas

2 Big Cloves of garlic

2 Red peppers (or yellow/orange) 

1 Tbs olive oil/rapeseed oil

2 tsp Paprika

½ tsp Fennel seeds OR 2 bay leaves

120ml white wine plus 80 ml water OR 200ml stock

1 Tin of chopped tomatoes OR  a small carton of passata

75g ground almonds

Fish: one of the following

·        4 fillets of fish – approx. 440-600g total. This can be any firm white fish such as hake, cod, monkfish, or salmon/trout.  

·        Or You could do one packet of two salmon fillets and one packet of two white fish fillets ( Still four fillets total)

·        Or You could use one packet of two fish fillets and one packet of prawns.

·        Or a packet of ‘stew mix’ /’pie mix’ that serves 4

Fresh Parsley

Method

Start by getting the baby potatoes on to cook. Boil the kettle, and put the potatoes in a pot with a lid. Pour over the boiling water, reserving some water in the kettle for the peas. Put the lid on and cook on a medium to high heat for 20-25 minutes until cooked through.

While these are cooking, slice the garlic and peppers very finely. This will take a few minutes but it’s worth it because it adds to the dish's texture and they get lovely and caramelised quicker. Heat the oil up in a large deep saucepan/casserole-type dish with a lid, over medium heat. Add the peppers and garlic and cook for 10 minutes with the lid on.

While this is cooking, prepare your fish. Preferably it will have the skin removed. If your fish still has the skin on you can carefully use a sharp knife to take the skin off, or if that’s too much faff you can leave it one. Cut the fish into 1-inch cubes, a bit bigger than bite-sized pieces.

Back to the garlic and pepper mixture. Remove the lid.  Add the paprika and fennel seeds/bay leaves then cook for 2 minutes. Increase the heat a little, add the stock or wine and water and mix well. Cook for 3 minutes.

Add the tinned tomatoes, mix well and cook for 5 minutes with the lid off.

Reduce the heat to a low heat. Now add the ground almond and mix well. If it is looking too thick add about 100- 50ml water and mix. It will depend on how watery the tinned tomatoes are. Season with salt and pepper.

Next add the fish cubes, gently pushing each piece into the stew base with a spoon. Put the lid on and cook for 10 minutes with the lid on.

If you are serving with the frozen peas, cook them now.  Put the peas in a small pot with a lid. Using the rest of the water in the kettle, pour the hot water over the peas. Put the lid on and cook on a medium to high heat for 5 minutes until cooked through.

Check the fish after the 10 minutes are up, if it is not cooked through and still looks opaque,  give it another 4-7 minutes until the fish is cooked through and firm.

Drain the potatoes and peas.

Sprinkle the stew with fresh parsley and serve everything together!