Yves fish stew

Recipe

The story goes, that Yves from Antibes in the south of France, used to make this dish every Friday night on a little stove in Paris.

I found this old recipe in a Gourmet Traveller magazine, and it reminded me of the delicious fish soups I had all around Europe – using fresh fish from the day’s catch nearby. I love how the light and comforting this dish is, after a long day travelling. The fish being the star of the dish, in a punchy and simple broth.

It is so simple and the use of anchovies is such a great idea to ramp up the flavour, rather than requiring fish stock which I often don’t have handy.

The slow cooking brings all the flavours together and the fish becomes so silky.

Serves 4

Pictured: Yves’s fish stew

2 onions, finely chopped

1 celery stalk, finely chopped

2 – 3 garlic cloves, finely chopped

4 flat –leaf parsley sprigs, finely chopped

Extra-virgin olive oil

4 large ripe tomatoes - peeled, seeded and coarsely chopped

4 anchovy fillets, chopped

375ml dry white wine (i.e. half a bottle

1 kg cleaned white firm fish i.e. cod, hake – cut into large pieces

Salt and freshly ground black pepper

Cook the onions, celery, garlic and parsley in a good splash of olive oil, over low heat until onions are soft – at least 10 minutes.

To peel the tomatoes, you bring a pot of water to the boil, slice a cross in the bottom of each tomato and dunk in the boiling water until you see the skin starting to peel off at that cross – will be fairly quick! Remove and when cool enough to handle, peel and slice in half, remove the seeds, then chop.

Add the tomato and anchovy once the onions are soft and cook another 10 minutes gently.

Add the wine, turn the heat to high, and cook 3 minutes, stirring all the time. Reduce heat to low, add the fish, then add just enough water to cover and season well. Stir, raise the heat and bring to the boil, then reduce to low again and cook partially covered for 45 minutes.

Serve hot!