After Jamie Oliver (JO) released his TV series Jamie’s Italy, I began cooking a lot of his dishes for my family. The enormous sense of pride Jamie emitted after he’d cooked and the considerable amount of love that went into each dish inspired me to feed my family a traditional Italian dish – one of which was his Summer Fish Stew: a finger lickin’ shellfish, tomato broth soaked up with slice of crusty bread!
A simple one pot dish is a go to type of recipe when I am cooking for my family. My immediate family, including partners, is 8 so something that is fuss free and that I can place in the middle of the table is a winner in my eyes. It not only allows people to help themselves and go back for seconds (if there is any left), but most importantly reduces the amount of washing up!!
I tested out Jamie Oliver’s recipe, served it with corn on the cobs and grilled halloumi. The sweetness of the tomatoes, mixed with fresh shellfish was a delight. However, when I discovered delicious. magazine’s Prawn Saganaki I decided to blend both recipes – injecting JO’s with more summer, more Mediterranean zing and a creamy punch. Food has the ability to transport you and this certainly does just that.. it is easy to imagine yourself enjoying this dish, sipping a crisp sauvignon blanc, overlooking the Amalfi Coast.
Ingredients:
1 red onion
2 garlic cloves
1 stick of celery
1 fresh red chilli
1/2 punch of parsley or coriander
olive oil
150ml white wine or Prosecco
1 x 400g jar of passata
1 x 350g jar of chopped tomatoes
Shellfish (you can choose anything, I went for a large handful of king prawns, 200g squid rings, 400g mussels)
50g black pitted olives
6 sun-dried tomatoes
200g feta cheese
1 lemon
Method:
In a food processor, blitz together the onion, garlic, celery, chilli and parsley stalks until finely chopped.
Place a large casserole dish on a medium heat Add in a glug of olive oil, when hot add in the chopped vegetables and cook for 10 minutes, or until softened, stirring occasionally.
Preheat the oven to 200°C/180°C fan/gas 6.
Pour in the white wine or prosseco, and simmer for 2 minutes. Add the the passata, chopped tomatoes, 250ml water, sliced olives, sun-dried tomatoes, squeeze of lemon juice, salt and black pepper. Leave to simmer on a low heat for 10 minutes. Check the seasoning and add more lemon, salt or pepper if needed.
Nestle in squid and prawns, crumble over the feta cheese, drizzle with olive oil and place in the oven for 10 minutes until the prawns are cooked through and the feta has turned golden brown.
Return back to hob on a low heat. Place in the mussels and cover with a lid. Steam for 3 minutes, or until the mussel shells have opened up.
Serve with a slice of crusty bread, corn on the cob, grilled halloumi and a wedge of lemon.
Emily x
