So warm and comforting. Every mouthful a hug. It was cobbled together a bit from other recipes but approximately this:
- Make a roux. I took it to a dark hazelnut level of colour.
- Add finely chopped onion, celery, and green pepper to the roux and fry, stirring often for a few minutes..
- Add chopped garlic and fry, stirring often. I was going to add some anchovies at this point, but couldn't find them, so I didn't.
- After a couple more minutes, push the veggies to one side then add a decent squeeze of tomato puree to the clear half of the pot, stirring it to release the aroma, then mix it in with the rest of the veggies.
- Add spices and aromatics. I went with a Cajun spice mix (called 'Slap Ya Mama'), salt, pepper, thyme, oregano, and a couple of bay leaves. But really you could do pretty much anything at this point depending on the spice profile you fancy - saffron or smoked paprika would both work really well here to give a more Spanish feel for example.
- Add some dry white wine, or beer, slowly, stirring. The roux will glob up, but just keep gently stirring and adding liquid until it's started to loosen. I'd guess I used about 250-300ml. Keep on the heat, stirring, for about 5 minutes to let the alcohol cook off a bit.
- Add chopped tomatoes - fresh or canned.
- Add more liquid. I went with a bottle of beer and 500 ml of fish stock, but just fish stock would work fine.
- Gently simmer for an hour, or so, stirring every 15-20 minutes, letting it approach the consistency you want because it'll thicken over time.
- Adjust the seasoning.
- Add chopped fish / prawns / other shellfish. Stir gently because you don't want the fish to break up. I gave it about five minutes and the fish was perfect, but adjust depending on what you're adding.
- Garnish with finely chopped parsley and spring onion, and plenty of lemon for people to squeeze over.
- Serve with fresh baked, crusty bread to mop up the juices.
