Tuesday Night Fish Dinner

Since arriving in Barcelona I am becoming a compulsive shopper.

The kitchen is bulging with food and everywhere that I look there’s more. Winking at me. We are becoming a food sanctuary!

Today I have decided to keep my eyes straight ahead and my hands in my pockets.

Yesterday we went to the market and came home with a piece of hake and half it’s head, the half a head was a surprise, split right down the middle.We got one eye and half a mouth. It was included in the price . The head and all other trimmings are fairly shared between whoever buys the fish.It came in very useful to make some fish stock which we used to make a simple fish stew

We cut the hake into steaks, Spanish style, to cook on the bone.

Here’s the recipe

1 onion- peeled and sliced

olive oil

3 cloves garlic – peeled and chopped

1 large red pepper – deseeded and sliced thinly

1 leek – cleaned and chopped into 1cm pieces

1 bay leaf

3 potatoes – peeled and cut into chunks one can of tomatoes

1 glass white wine about

500mls fish stock

a handful of chopped basil

about 150g fish per person

To make the stock; a fish head or bones, a stick of celery, a carrot and an onion all peeled and chopped Put all the ingredients for the stock into a saucepan and barely cover with water. Bring to the boil and then simmer for twenty minutes.

To make the stew, heat a large pan and add a little olive oil and the onions, when they start to sizzle away stir in the peppers, bay leaf, potatoes and leek. Season with a little salt. Cook on a medium heat for about ten minutes then add the  the garlic. Give a few stirs, pour in a glass of wine and when the wine bubbles up add the tomatoes and the fish stock. Simmer everything for about twenty minutes or until the potatoes are tender. The sauce will reduce whilst cooking, if it becomes too thick add a little more fish stock  or a little water. taste the stew and adjust the seasoning. Season the pieces of hake with a little salt and pepper and post into the stew, giving them a little push to submerge them as far as possible in the sauce. Cook for about four minutes then carefully turn them over, push them into the sauce again and cook for a few minutes longer. Take the pan off the heat and scatter with the chopped basil .