Oh la la. Can you smell ze garlic?

It’s New Years Day, you’re feeling very average and yet excited about the dawning of a new year all at the same time. What do you eat?

Fabulous Fish Stew

I knew that Charlie and Tove would be craving lots of seafood during their summer trip home, so I had already planned to cruise through plenty of the seafood recipes when we head down the coast next week, but as I nursed a sore head yesterday, I decided we needed a hearty NYD dinner, that was simple but tasty. Thank you Jamie.

I was not so forthcoming with thanks when I headed to the fish shop however. Now there’s a sentence we’ve heard before… It’s new years day, it’s summer, people are on holidays and entertaining left, right and centre and yet apparently it’s not the time to be fully stocked with seafood at the fish shop. So unfortunately Jamie’s fish stew was missing a few ingredients – clams and mussels - but no biggie really.

The stew is to be served with aioli, so I made that first with mayo, a good few cloves of crushed garlic, a squeeze of lemon juice and S&P seasoning.

The simplicity of the stew was its appeal when choosing what to cook and when it came to cooking it, it didn’t disappoint. A few more cloves of garlic, finely sliced, thrown into hot oil, followed by a few chopped basil leaves and stalks, a big glass of white wine and two tins of plum tomatoes. Brought to the boil, I threw in the seafood – salmon, blue eye, snapper and prawns – gave it a good stir and left to simmer for 10 minutes.

Served with a dollop of aioli on top, crusty bread, some basil leaves and a sprinkle of parmesan, it was the perfect dinner to cure a new years day hangover. Or accompany some new years drinks…

Xx

PS – I’ve a new love for aioli. It’s so easy to make, but it really can change the whole outcome of a meal.

PPS – Am planning to give another lobster recipe a go next week, when we’re down the coast. Fingers crossed for a coastal fish-shop-lady with a willingness to assist or else it could get messy!