This is a delightful, easy and simple fish stew packed with goodness — chickpeas, fresh fish and lots of tomatoes, garlic and olive oil. It would make a perfect main course for a relaxed dinner party. The fish is the star of the dish, so make sure it’s as fresh as can be.
Stew
| 2 Tbsp | Olive oil |
| 1 | Onion, brown, diced |
| 2 cloves | Garlic, minced |
| 1 stalk | Celery, finely diced |
| 1 | Red capsicum, or green capsicum, cut into 2cm chunks |
| 2 sprigs | Rosemary |
| 1 can | Cherry tomatoes, 400g |
| 1 ½ cups | Fish stock, or chicken stock |
| 1 can | Chickpeas, 400g, drained (Main) |
| 1 pinch | Dried chilli, optional |
| 300 g | White fish, boneless, skinless, firm-fleshed, e.g. trevally, monkfish etc. I used hapuku, cut into large 3cm chunks (Main) |
| ½ | Lemons, juiced |
| 1 splash | Extra virgin olive oil |
| 1 handful | Flat leaf (Italian) parsley, chopped, to garnish |
Garlic croutons
| 4 slices | Sourdough bread, or ciabatta, cut or torn into 1 inch chunks |
| 2 cloves | Garlic, minced |
| 4 Tbsp | Olive oil |
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Directions
- Heat olive oil in a medium-sized pot or large frying pan on medium heat. Saute onion, garlic, celery and capsicum until soft (about 6-7 minutes).
- Add rosemary sprigs, tomatoes, stock, chickpeas and chilli flakes if using. Bring to a boil, then lower heat and simmer, uncovered, for 15 minutes to allow stew to thicken slightly.
- While the stew is cooking, make the garlic croutons. Toss bread chunks with olive oil and garlic and bake in an oven preheated to 180C until golden and crispy (about 8-10 minutes).
- Add fish and lemon juice to stew, cover and continue cooking a further 3-5 minutes until fish is just cooked through. Turn off heat and season to taste with salt and pepper. Remove rosemary sprigs.
- Divide stew between shallow bowls, garnish with parsley and a good drizzle of boutique extra virgin olive oil. Top with garlic croutons. Serve immediately.
