Fish Stew with Mussels

Ingredients

• 8 large shrimp
• 2 tbsp olive oil
• 1 star anise
• 1 bay leaf
• 5 sprigs thyme
• 1 stalk leek
• 1 onion
• 4 tomatoes
• 1 fennel bulb
• 300 g small waxy potatoes
• 1 Carrot
• 2 Garlic cloves
• 1 tsp tomato paste
• 1 tsp Sweet paprika powder
• 200 ml dry white wine
• Sea salt
• ground pepper
• 1 pinch saffron strands
• 250 g mussels
• a splash of vermouth (e.g., Pernod)

Instructions

1. 1.

   Rinse the fish and pat dry. Fillet and de-bone. Cut all fillets into bite-sized pieces. Wash shrimp, remove heads, peel except for tail segment, and devein. In a hot pot, briefly sauté fish carcasses (without gills) with shrimp shells in 1 tbsp oil. Cover with 1 l cold water, add star anise, bay leaf, and thyme; bring to boil. Simmer gently for about 20 minutes just below the boil, skimming foam occasionally.

2. 2.

   Wash, peel, or trim leek, onion, tomatoes, fennel, potatoes, carrot, and garlic. Slice leek into rings, cut potatoes into pieces, dice tomatoes, slice fennel bulb, thinly slice onion and carrot, cut fennel green into rings, and slice garlic thinly.

3. 3.

   Add remaining oil to a hot pot and sauté leek with onion, fennel, carrot, and garlic until translucent. Stir in tomato paste and paprika powder, then deglaze with white wine. Strain the fish stock into the pot and bring to boil. Add potatoes and tomatoes, season with salt, pepper, saffron, and simmer gently for about 20 minutes; add water if needed.

4. 4.

   Wash and clean mussels. Add them along with fish pieces and shrimp to the soup and cook over gentle heat just until cooked through; do not boil further. Season with Pernod, salt, and pepper before serving.

5. 5.

   Serve the fish stew with mussels alongside crusty bread with rouille as desired.