Rachel says: “This is a lovely fresh stew that I make with cod but is nice with any chunky piece of white, sustainable fish you have available.

I didn’t have any white wine on hand when I first made this so, with a nod to Nigella, I made it with white vermouth instead. It added a really unusual element to the tomato stew that I quite liked, but found rather polarising, so afterwards I reverted to using dry white wine. Try it if you want to enhance the sweetness of the tomatoes and the fish stock.”

Serves 2

Preparation time: 10 minutes

Cooking time: 35 minutes

Ingredients

1 small onion
1 celery stick
1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
1 large garlic clove
75ml (5 tbsp) dry white wine
400g tin cannellini beans
400g tin chopped tomatoes
150ml (2/3 cup) fresh fish stock
2 chunky sustainable cod fillets
freshly ground sea salt and black pepper

For the gremolata:

1 large garlic clove
small handful of flat leaf parsley
zest of ½ lemon
small pinch of sea salt

Method

Peel and finely chop the onion and the celery stick.

Heat the olive oil in a large, lidded shallow casserole dish over a medium heat and gently fry the onions and the celery for about 10 minutes until they are soft, but not browned. Peel and finely chop the garlic and add it to the pan, gently frying for a further minute until aromatic.

Add the white wine to the pan and allow it to bubble gently while you drain the beans and add them to the pan with a generous amount of salt and pepper. Then add the tinned tomatoes, followed by the stock. Turn the heat up to high until it is bubbling, then reduce it to low to simmer, uncovered, for 10 minutes.

Make the gremolata by peeling and finely chopping the garlic, finely chopping the parsley and mixing them together in a small bowl along with the lemon zest and sea salt. Set aside.

Nestle the two fish fillets between the beans and season the tops with salt and pepper. Place the lid on the pan and allow the fish to steam for 10 minutes until the fish is cooked through and you can flake it gently with a fork.

Serve the bean stew in two warm bowls, each topped with a fish fillet, and the gremolata piled on top of the fish.

Tip: As with any sort of tomato-based fish stew, you can’t go wrong serving this with a crusty loaf to mop up all the juices.

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