A Spanish fish stew with smoky paprika and saffron

The smoky paprika and saffron flavours in this dish, adapted from the marvellous Moro stable, are subtle and light, and make it hard not to finish the lot in one go–(which is what happened last night!).

for two

450 gms/1 lb monkfish–fresh as can be, skinned, cleaned, spine removed and the thin membrane too, as far as possible–cut into chunks

4 good prawns–unpeeled.

250 gms/8 oz mussels–cleaned

4 tablespoons olive oil

1 large sweet/mild onion–chopped

2 garlic cloves–chopped

1 tablespoon fresh rosemary–very finely chopped

1 lb /450 gms tomatoes–skinned and chopped or a 425 ml tin of tomatoes, drained and chopped

half a teaspoon smoked paprika [pimenton]

3 bay leaves

a good pinch of saffron threads–soaked in four tablespoons of hot water

150 ml/6 fl oz white wine

100 ml/4 fl oz stock–I used half an organic vegetable stock cube

4 oz/ 100 gms blanched almonds–blitzed into powder or use powdered almonds–to thicken the sauce

Salt and pepper

A shallow sauté pan you can present at table, would be best for this all-in-one dish.

• Fry the onions in the oil until they are nicely coloured–it’s worth the time involved–about fifteen minutes–as this is the engine room of the dish.
• Add the garlic, rosemary and bay leaves and cook for a further five minutes.
• Mix in the tomatoes and the paprika and cook until the tomatoes have dissolved into a sauce–about ten more minutes.
• Add the wine and give it a minute or two before stirring in the saffron water and the stock.
• Bring it all up to a gentle simmer then stir in the powdered almonds.
• Fold in the fish, the mussels and the prawns–[last night I used uncooked prawns; if you use cooked ones add them a couple of minutes later]

• Cover the pan and cook a further 5-10 minutes turning everything over in the sauce from time to time. Make sure the mussels open up.

We ate it spooned over some basmati brown rice and the word moderation wasn’t mentioned..!