Brittany fish stew (cotriade)

A cotriade is a traditional, coastal Breton fish and potato soup and every family has its own recipe. It’s made using whole fish, cut into pieces, rather than fillets, and it’s best to include at least three different types of fish.

• serves

  4

• prep

  10 minutes

• cook

  20 minutes

• difficulty

  Easy

Ingredients

• 80 g (3 oz) butter
• 1 onion, chopped
• 1 leek, chopped
• 2 garlic cloves, chopped
• 3 sprigs thyme
• 6 medium potatoes, peeled and quartered
• 1 litre cold water
• salt
• freshly ground pepper
• 1½ kg (3 lb) whole fish (monkfish, flathead, john dory, whiting), cleaned and cut into 3 cm (1 in) pieces
• 12 mussels
• 80 ml (⅓ cup) chopped parsley

Instructions

Heat the butter in a large saucepan. Add the onion and stir for 2 minutes. Add the leek and garlic and stir for a further 2 minutes. Add the thyme and potatoes and stir for another minute. Cover with 1 litre of cold water, season with salt and pepper, bring to the boil and cook for 5 minutes.

Add the fish pieces and shake the pot. Simmer for about 5 minutes.

Add the mussels, cover with a lid and cook for 2-3 minutes until the mussels have opened.

Serve the stew in large bowls and sprinkle with chopped parsley.

Photography by Benito Martin

Styling by Jerrie-Joy Redman-Lloyd

Cook's Notes

Oven temperatures are for conventional; if using fan-forced (convection), reduce the temperature by 20˚C. | We use Australian tablespoons and cups: 1 teaspoon equals 5 ml; 1 tablespoon equals 20 ml; 1 cup equals 250 ml. | All herbs are fresh (unless specified) and cups are lightly packed. | All vegetables are medium size and peeled, unless specified. | All eggs are 55-60 g, unless specified.