December 22, 2011 at 10:50 AM

Ingredients

Serves 2

• 2 cloves of garlic, peeled
• Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
• Lemon juice
• 12 mussels
• Olive oil
• Small wineglass of white wine
• 1 x 400g tin good-quality plum tomatoes
• 2 small fillets of seabass or bream, cut in half
• 2 small fillets of red mullet or snapper, cut in half
• 2 small fillets of monkfish or other firm white fish
• 4 tiger prawns, shell on
• 2 thick slices of crusty bread
• Small handful of fennel tops
• Extra virgin olive oil
• Small bunch of fresh basil, leaves picked and stalks chopped

Method

1. To make the saffron aïoli, put 3 egg yolks, a clove of garlic, a tiny squeeze of lemon juice, and the saffron with a small pinch of salt in a small magi mix slowly in a stream add 200ml of sunflower oil, until it begins to thicken. Taste and season with a little more lemon juice, salt and pepper. 

2. Give the mussels a good wash in plenty of clean cold water and scrub any dirty ones lightly with a scrubbing brush, pulling off any beardy bits. If there are any that aren’t tightly closed, give them a sharp tap. If they don’t close up, throw them away. 

3. Heat a large, wide saucepan or stewing pot and pour in a splash of olive oil. Slice up the rest of the garlic and fry it in the oil until lightly golden. Add the basil, wine and the tomatoes and bring to the boil. Simmer gently for 10 to 15 minutes, until the liquid has reduced a little.

4. Add all your fish and shellfish in a single layer and season with salt and pepper. Push the fish down into the liquid and put the lid on. Cook gently for about 10 minutes or until the mussels have opened and the fish fillets and tiger prawns are cooked through. (Discard any mussels that don’t open. 

5. Toast the bread in a hot oven and warm some plates, ladle the fish onto the plates making sure it is divided more or less evenly. Top each dish l with some basil leaves, a drizzle of extra virgin olive oil and a big blob of saffron aïoli on the toasted crostini. Lovely X

P.s it is definitely worth trying to get hold of Saffron ~ it is expensive but really works with this delious fish stew.

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