Fish and Potato Stew
Dinner

This is a one-pot fish stew built on chicken stock seasoned with smoked paprika and ground coriander. I love using smoked paprika as it gives the broth a deep, smoky base, and the coriander adds a warm, citrusy note that sits well with the fish. This is a great dish to make when you want something warming but still nice and light.
Ingredients
- 600g firm-flesh white fish (ocean perch)
- 1 red onion
- 3 peeled cloves of garlic
- 400g baby potatoes
- 2 spring onions
- 1 zucchini
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- 280g pitted Sicilian olives
- 1L chicken stock
- 1 tbsp smoked paprika
- 1 tsp ground coriander
- salt to taste
- 1 lemon, zest and juice
Directions
- Peel and thickly dice the red onion. Slice the garlic about 2mm thick. Keep the skin on the potatoes and slice them into bite-sized pieces, about 12 pieces per potato.
- To a large saucier or pot, add the olive oil and place over high heat.
- Once the oil has come to temperature, add the diced onion and garlic with ¼ tsp of salt and sauté for 2 minutes.
- Add the diced potatoes, stock, paprika and ground coriander to the saucier. Simmer for 12 minutes or until the potatoes are cooked 80% of the way through.
- In the meantime, trim the zucchini then dice to a similar size to the potato and set aside.
- Finely slice the spring onion on a bias, keeping the white and the green parts of the spring onion separate.
- Slice the fish fairly chunky, into bite-sized pieces.
- Once the potatoes are nearly cooked, add the zucchini and spring onion whites. Simmer for 1 minute then add the fish. Bring the stock back up to a gentle simmer, then immediately turn the heat down to low.
- Keeping the heat on low, add the olives, spring onion greens, lemon zest, and the juice of half a lemon. Continue simmering for a further 5 minutes.
- Before serving, make sure the potatoes are soft and the fish is cooked through. Taste and adjust the seasoning (salt or lemon). Serve and enjoy!
Recipe notes
White fish
I use ocean perch, but any firm-fleshed white fish works. Snapper, hoki, sea bass, halibut or rockfish are all good options. If you’re unsure, ask your fishmonger for a firm white fish that’s in season. Cut the fish into chunky, bite-sized pieces so they hold together in the stew.
Baby potatoes
Keep the skins on and cut each potato into small, bite-sized pieces, about 12 per potato. Smaller pieces cook fast and release more starch, which is what thickens the stock. Check them at the 10 minute mark. They should be about 80% cooked before the fish goes in, as they’ll finish cooking alongside it.
Sicilian olives
The olives add salt and a briny bite to the broth. Sicilian olives can be quite salty, so taste one before they go in. If they’re too salty, rinse them under cold water first. For the same reason, hold off on most of the seasoning until the end and taste the stew right before serving.