Basque Fish Stew with Potatoes and Peppers Recipe
Basque home cooking is a generous, rustic affair – quite different from the bitesize bar snacks and skewered pintxos that have made the northern Spanish region so famous for its food. Marmitako, a classic fisherman’s tuna and potato stew, forms the inspiration for this dish.
Ingredients
- 1kg Nanna Tate potatoes, peeled
- olive oil, for cooking and finishing
- 1 onion, finely sliced
- 1 green pepper, finely sliced
- 1 red pepper, finely sliced
- 3 garlic cloves, finely sliced
- 1 tsp smoked paprika
- 2 tbsp of tomato paste
- 400g of tinned chopped tomatoes
- 700ml of fish stock, or vegetable stock
- 600g of cod fillet, chopped into bite-size pieces
- 1 bunch of dill, roughly chopped
- 1 lemon, zested
- 1 Nanna Tate potato, peeled and julienned
- vegetable oil, for deep-frying
Method · 1 h 15 min
- Use a knife to break each potato into rough chunks – this encourages starch to thicken the broth. To get really jagged edges, only cut the potatoes partway through, then twist the blade to break them in half
- Heat a splash of olive oil in a wide pan. Add the onion, peppers and garlic and cook for 8-10 minutes until softened. Stir in the smoked paprika and tomato paste and cook for 1-2 minutes
- Add the chopped tomatoes and stock, then tip in the potato shards. Season with salt and pepper and bring to a gentle simmer
- Simmer for 25-30 minutes until the potatoes begin to break down slightly and the broth thickens
- While the potatoes cook, make the potato matchsticks. Heat a few centimetres of vegetable oil in a heavy-bottomed, high sided pan to 180°C
- Fry the potatoes in the hot oil until crisp and golden, then remove with a slotted and season with salt
- Once the potatoes have broken down, season the cod lightly, then add to the stew and leave to poach for around 7 minutes
- Ladle the stew into bowls. Top with a handful of crispy potato matchsticks, fresh dill, lemon zest and drizzle with more olive oil
