Cod, prawns, mussels and squid dropped in stages into a fennel, chilli and white wine tomato broth so everything finishes at once.
Prep
25 mins
Cook
35 mins
Servings
4
Per serving
£4.50
Difficulty
medium
A coastal-style stew where the broth is built first and the seafood barely cooks in it. The order things go into the pan is the whole recipe, since squid and prawns need moments while mussels need to open.
Warm the olive oil in a wide, deep pan over a medium-low heat. Add the sliced fennel and onion with a pinch of the salt and cook gently for 15 minutes until completely soft and sweet, stirring now and then.
Add the garlic and chilli flakes and cook for one minute, then stir in the tomato puree and fry it for a minute until it turns dark.
Pour in the wine, turn the heat up and let it bubble hard for three minutes to cook off the alcohol.
You want the sharp smell of raw wine to disappear completely before the stock goes in, otherwise it stays as a thin sourness in the finished broth.
Add the chopped tomatoes and the fish stock. Season with the rest of the salt and the pepper and simmer gently, uncovered, for 15 minutes until the broth has body and tastes properly of fennel.
Slide in the mussels, cover the pan and cook for 3 minutes until most have opened. Discard any that stay firmly shut.
Add the cod chunks, settling them into the broth without stirring, and cook for 3 minutes. Then add the prawns and squid rings and cook for a final 2 minutes, until the prawns are pink and the squid is opaque.
Squid has two windows: under three minutes or over forty. Anywhere in between and it turns to rubber, so add it last and take the pan off the heat promptly.
Turn off the heat, scatter over the parsley and the reserved fennel fronds, and let it sit for two minutes. Serve in wide bowls with lemon wedges to squeeze over.