Shellfish stew Archive

Ingredients

• 1 onion, roughly chopped
• 6 garlic cloves, crushed
• 125ml/4fl oz extra virgin olive oil
• 1 head fennel, roughly chopped
• 1 tsp fennel seeds
• 4 star anise
• 300ml/10fl oz white wine
• 2 x 400g tins tomatoes
• 200g/7oz brown crabmeat, puréed in a food processor until very smooth
• 1 small sourdough loaf, cut into small cubes
• 1 x 750g/1lb10z cooked small lobster, meat extracted and cut into pieces
• 3 x 75g/2¾oz pollock fillets, skin left on
• 1 x 350g/12oz whole mackerel, cut into large chunks
• 12 raw tiger prawns, shells left on
• 1kg/2lb 4oz mussels, scrubbed and de-bearded (discard any mussels that do not close tightly when tapped)
• freshly ground black pepper
• basil, to garnish
• crusty bread, to serve