My original notes on this recipe, or rather my scribbled reminder says Salmon, Chickpeas, Prawns and Harissa – a bit of a mouthful I thought – so Fish Stew with Harissa it is, more casual anyway which I prefer.  The name doesn’t however, convey the fabulousness of this dish, rich, sweet and pink by way of the salmon and prawns, chilli spiked and spiced from the harissa and filling, in a good way, with the chickpeas.

I had promised I wouldn’t mention the weather again but it seems, I can’t stop myself and unable to wait any longer for Spring to arrive I decided to cook something sunny instead.  I wanted something redolent of lunch by the sea, toes in the sand, a bottle of white wine in an ice bucket, a plate full of fish and spice to eat with some good crusty bread on the side to mop  up the sauce.

Back to reality then, this is an easy weekday supper.  The chickpeas simmer in the wine and  harissa which form a fragrant broth to cook the fish in.  It sits happily on the hob whilst you do something else and then ta, da, a delicious healthy supper appears with almost no effort at all.  This is enough for 2 but is easily doubled.

Fish Stew with Harissa

1 teaspoon olive oil

1 small onion, finely chopped

1 large garlic clove, finely chopped

2 teaspoons harissa (see note)

100ml white wine

350ml fish or vegetable stock

400g tin of chickpeas

1/2 teaspoon sea salt

300g salmon, approx 2 fillets, cut into chunks

100g prawns

Juice of a lemon

A small bunch of parsley, chopped

Heat the oil in a large frying pan and cook the onion gently until soft, add the garlic and stir for a few minutes.  Then add the harissa followed by the white wine and stock.  Mix this together then add the chickpeas, half a teaspoon of salt and simmer for 20 minutes.  Put the salmon into the pan and cook for a further five minutes turning the pieces over half way and adding the prawns for the final few minutes of cooking.  Add the lemon juice and taste, you may need more lemon or salt.  Strew with parsley and serve.

Note – I like this reasonably spicy so use two teaspoons of harissa, if you wish to be a little more cautious, add one and a half and then after tasting at the end swirl the extra through before serving if you want.  Also, I find recipes with chickpeas need a fair amount of salt but do reduce the amount if you wish.