Course: main
Servings: 4-6
Prep Time: 10 minutes
Cook Time: 15 minutes

Ingredients:

• 1 tbsp olive oil
• 1 tbsp Shetland butter
• 1 carrot finely diced
• 1 stick celery finely diced
• 1 small onion finely chopped
• 1 leek finely chopped
• 3 cloves garlic chopped
• 1 tsp fennel seeds
• 1 can chopped tomatoes
• 1 small red pepper finely diced
• Small piece of root ginger finely chopped
• Small piece of red chilli finely chopped
• 1 tsp dried tarragon
• Handful of chopped fresh parsley or dill
• 1 glass dry white wine
• 1.5 pints good fish stock
• Splash of fish sauce
• 500 grams mixed fish (I used a mix of ling, catfish, hake, salmon and smoked haddock)
• Handful of fresh mussels
• Juice of half a lemon
• Salt / pepper to taste

Instructions:

1. Heat the oil and butter
2. Add the carrot, celery, onion, leek, garlic and fennel seeds. Cook slowly until vegetables have softened.
3. Add the remaining base ingredients and cook for around 10 - 15 minutes.
4. Season well.
5. Gently add the fish to the sauce along with the lemon juice.
6. Cover and cook gently for a further 10 minutes, adding the mussels for a few minutes at the end.
7. Once the mussels have opened, check the seasoning again before ladling into warmed bowls.
8. Garnish with fresh dill and serve with warm Shetland bannocks and Shetland butter

This is a great recipe to use cheaper varieties of fish. You could reduce the amount of fish you use by substituting it with e.g. diced potatoes and/or chickpeas. You could also add garden peas, topping up with more fish stock as required.