Mediterranean fish and chickpea stew with garlic croutons

Kieran Scott/Tamara West

This is a delightful, easy and simple fish stew packed with goodness — chickpeas, fresh fish and lots of tomatoes, garlic and olive oil. It would make a perfect main course for a relaxed dinner party. The fish is the star of the dish, so make sure it’s as fresh as can be.

Stew

2 Tbsp	Olive oil
1	Onion, brown, diced
2 cloves	Garlic, minced
1 stalk	Celery, finely diced
1	Red capsicum, or green capsicum, cut into 2cm chunks
2 sprigs	Rosemary
1 can	Cherry tomatoes, 400g
1 ½ cups	Fish stock, or chicken stock
1 can	Chickpeas, 400g, drained (Main)
1 pinch	Dried chilli, optional
300 g	White fish, boneless, skinless, firm-fleshed, e.g. trevally, monkfish etc. I used hapuku, cut into large 3cm chunks (Main)
½	Lemons, juiced
1 splash	Extra virgin olive oil
1 handful	Flat leaf (Italian) parsley, chopped, to garnish

Garlic croutons

4 slices	Sourdough bread, or ciabatta, cut or torn into 1 inch chunks
2 cloves	Garlic, minced
4 Tbsp	Olive oil

Directions

1. Heat olive oil in a medium-sized pot or large frying pan on medium heat. Saute onion, garlic, celery and capsicum until soft (about 6-7 minutes).
2. Add rosemary sprigs, tomatoes, stock, chickpeas and chilli flakes if using. Bring to a boil, then lower heat and simmer, uncovered, for 15 minutes to allow stew to thicken slightly.
3. While the stew is cooking, make the garlic croutons. Toss bread chunks with olive oil and garlic and bake in an oven preheated to 180C until golden and crispy (about 8-10 minutes).
4. Add fish and lemon juice to stew, cover and continue cooking a further 3-5 minutes until fish is just cooked through. Turn off heat and season to taste with salt and pepper. Remove rosemary sprigs.
5. Divide stew between shallow bowls, garnish with parsley and a good drizzle of boutique extra virgin olive oil. Top with garlic croutons. Serve immediately.