Vicky's Special Seafood Stew

I have grown up with a love of food and drink that stems from my wonderful parents, Les and Vicky. Practically from birth, my two brothers and I were taken to different restaurants and were always encouraged to try absolutely everything. We were lucky enough to enjoy lots of holidays abroad in various parts of Europe and so all love experimenting with new dishes and styles of food.

We were never shy of seafood or shellfish, and with them both hailing from the East End of London, we often enjoyed ‘high tea’ on a Sunday afternoon – a feast of cockles, winkles, whelks, rollmops, prawns and an array of sandwiches, always, always cut into quarters or as my Mum calls them ‘dolly sandwiches.’

Both my Mum and Dad enjoy cooking and each have their signature dishes, which get brought out for special occasions, birthdays and the like, and on request when one of us has a craving. My Dad is known for his paella whereas my Mum’s seafood stew is her absolute signature – and it is legendary. 

The whole family enjoyed this dinner this afternoon for no other reason than it is a Sunday and we were all eating together. It occurred to me that in writing this blog since January 2010, I’ve never shared this wonderful recipe, which has been honed to perfection by my Mum over the years.

Originally found in a 1997 edition of ‘Best Ever Cook’s Collection, Farmhouse Cooking’ which incidentally has some fantastic recipes included, my Mum has experimented with lots of variations. For special occasions, this is made with lobster, but for a standard Sunday lunch, like today, we had langoustines in in place of the luxury crustacean. Monkfish works really well in this stew, being a little meatier than some white fish, it holds together better, but you really could use any fish. 

My mum’s addition to make this a little heartier is to serve over pasta. We’ve had linguine, spaghetti and vermicelli before but any would work, today we had pretty tripoline – the telephone wire looking ribbons.

So here is Vicky’s Special Seafood Stew:

·         12 Langoustines or a lobster if you’re feeling flush

·         24 fresh mussels

·         1 large monkfish tail or a cod fillet of about 300g

·         1 tbsp plain flour

·         225g squid

·         90ml olive oil

·         12 large raw prawns

·         450g tomatoes

·         2 large onions

·         4 garlic cloves

·         2 tbsp brandy

·         2 bay leaves

·         1 tbsp paprika

·         1 large red chilli

·         300ml fresh fish stock

·         3 tbsp ground almonds

·         2 tbsp parsley

·         Salt & Pepper

·         Pasta of your choice

Firstly scrub the mussels, and get rid of any that are open. Chop the monkfish into bite-size chunks..

Liberally season the flour and toss the monkfish and squid in it and then fry on a high heat in a drizzle of olive oil to sear for a minute or so and then set aside.

Fry the prawns and set aside with the squid and monkfish.

Peel the tomatoes (a tip is to put them into boiling water for 30 seconds-1 minute and then move into ice cold water to ease the skins off). Chop roughly. Chop the chilli (if you like a fiery kick leave the seeds in, but remove if you prefer a milder dish).

Dice the onions, crush the garlic and add to the pan (keeping back about 1 clove of crushed garlic). Allow to soften then add the brandy and set alight to flambé. When the flames have died down, add the tomatoes, chilli, bay leaves and paprika and pour over the fish stock. Gently bring to the boil, and then reduce and simmer for five minutes.

Add the mussels and langoustines to the sauce and cover, keeping on a medium heat for 3-4 minutes. Once the mussels have opened, remove them from the juice, and again get rid of any that haven’t opened.

Cook the pasta you’re using in a separate pot of water.

Make a flavourful paste to intensify the stew by blending the ground almonds, garlic and parsley with a good pinch of salt and pepper and stir into the sauce.

Finally return all of the fish and seafood to the stew pot and cook on a low heat for a further five minutes until hot through.

We always serve this at the table, but pile in the pasta first into a soup bowl and then ladle in the stew. Make sure you have some fresh, preferably crusty bread to dip in and soak up all of the fantastic flavours – you won’t be disappointed. I advise a glass of Rioja or a jug of sangria to go alongside. 

L'Anima

L’Anima is one of those seriously slick operations that everybody should try once. 

Francesco Mazzei’s menu, a modern twist on classic Italian, is alone, enough to guarantee your return. Combined with the stylish interior, top-notch service and piano lounge with regular live singers it’s not hard to see why this place always seems busy.

I visited recently with the boy on a Saturday evening, it was freezing cold and we didn’t fancy heading out too far and after a Google search or two, I discovered L’Anima’s ‘Prezzo Fisso’ set menu, £35 for three courses, we were sold.

Located just behind Liverpool Street station in the heart of the square mile, L’Anima is a huge glass fronted building, and considering its city location, it had a serious buzz for a weekend.

We ordered a bottle of the house Champagne (£60) and mulled over our choices. A basket of fresh, Italian bread was delivered, a few types included, all delicious, but none more so than a gloriously salty rosemary scented focaccia.

The set menu we chose from had just three options per course, which made for easier decision-making. 

Glen ordered the Seafood Spaghetti starter option whilst I opted for the Smoked Veal Carpaccio. The spaghetti was in a light tomato sauce with a strong and fiery chilli flavour and amongst the sea creatures included, were clams, mussels and the odd prawn. The portion was perfectly sized for a first course and it really packed a punch. It was the kind of starter that leaves you wanting more. 

The veal carpaccio was equally good. When I have enjoyed beef or fish carpaccio previously, the slices of flesh have been cut far thinner, however this chunkier version was simply delicious, the meat melted in the mouth and was expertly seasoned. With slithers of chestnuts and parmesan topping the dish and a few dark leaves, this was a gorgeous plate of food in every sense of the word.

For the main event, I opted for the Monkfish Gauzetto – basically a piece of monkfish stewed in a tomato, olive and caper sauce which was divine. If I were being incredibly picky, I might have preferred the fish cooked slightly less, but it didn’t really impact on the flavour, it was a dish I would return for with sublime flavours. Quite a strong garlic hum powered the stew, and it is once again, a dish I will be trying to emulate in my own kitchen (perhaps with chicken thighs, or pork cheeks). 

Glen chose the three meat cannelloni, which was a beautifully presented plate. Served on slate, was a slathering of rich, tomato sauce, topped with a creamy cheese sauce and completed with three tubes of fresh pasta filled with a delicious combination of meats. We never did get to the bottom of which meats were included, and as this was a fairly small portion for Glen, I was only allowed a small bite – however I would hazard a guess at pork, beef and rabbit (no horsemeat here). This was yet another fantastic, faultless dish. 

We also had a couple of sides to make up the meal a little, some roasted potatoes with peppers and char grilled vegetables – both good.  

For my dessert I had a vanilla panna cotta, which was soaked in grappa and sprinkled with pomegranate jewels – very pretty to look at, and a lovely refreshing pudding.

The absolute dish of the day though, without fail, had to be Glen’s Monte Bianco – this was quite frankly a triumph. Stunning to look at, and even better to taste, the meringue of pureed chestnuts was in a little structure, held together by fresh cream, and positioned in some rich, dark and utterly irresistible chocolate sauce. Chocolate nibs were scattered around the plate, and a scoop of chestnut ice cream was positioned with two little caramel balls of deliciousness. This was just marvellous, in every way. 

L’Anima’s Menu Prezzo Fisso to me, represents fine-dining at a much more affordable price. The evening we had set us back around the £160 mark, but we enjoyed three amazing courses each, a bottle of Champagne and a live soul singer to boot, in stylish surroundings, what more could a girl want on a Saturday night?