This dish from the Irish food board Bord Bia is a combination of fresh Irish fish with the delicious French sauce rouille.

Rouille is a sauce that consists of olive oil with breadcrumbs, garlic, saffron, and cayenne pepper. It's usually served as a garnish with fish. For this recipe, any leftover rouille will keep well in the fridge for a couple of days. You could also serve it with fish burgers or crispy baked hake.

Fish Stew with Rouille recipe 

Serves: 6 people

Time: 45 minutes

Ingredients (Main):

-500g whiting, skinned, boned, and cut into 2½cm chunks

-18 mussels, cleaned and beards removed

-18 raw, peeled prawns, veins removed

- 2 tablespoons olive oil

-4 tomatoes, roughly chopped

-1 onion, finely diced

-1 stick of celery, finely diced

-2 garlic cloves, peeled and chopped

-1 tablespoon tomato purée

-120ml white wine

-600ml water

-1 bouquet garni (bay leaf, fennel and thyme)

-½ teaspoon of saffron or saffron strands

-300g potatoes, peeled and cut into small cubes

-Salt and freshly ground black pepper

Ingredients (Side)

For the rouille:

- 25g stale bread, soaked in 2 tablespoons of  water

-3 cloves of garlic, peeled and chopped

-1 egg yolk

-2 tablespoons of  harissa or chili paste

-  A squeeze of lemon juice

- 200ml olive oil
 
To Serve:

-Toasted slices of bread

-Chopped parsley

Method:

-Preheat the oven to Gas Mark 1, 140ºC (275ºF). 

-Peel the potatoes and cut them into thin slices. Overlap one-third of the slices over the base of a buttered 2.¼ litre shallow ovenproof dish and sprinkle with half the chopped garlic, one-third of the grated cheese and some salt and pepper.

-Repeat the layers once more, then finish with a final layer of neatly overlapped potatoes.

-Warm the milk and cream together in a pan with a little more seasoning to taste. Pour over the potatoes and sprinkle with the remaining cheese.

-Bake for approximately 1½ hours until the potatoes are tender when pierced with the tip of a knife.

-Cover very loosely with a sheet of foil part-way through cooking after the top has become nicely golden.

Bord Bia's Quality Kitchen

Bord Bia's Quality Kitchen has a large collection of recipes, a combination of both traditional and modern recipes, from party snacks and starters to main courses and desserts for every occasion. The emphasis is on lean meat and poultry, fresh fish and eggs, combined with high fiber fruit and vegetables, lots of fresh herbs for added flavor, and much less dependence on high-fat sauces or too much salt.

So whether the time factor, the budget, healthy eating, or just delicious meals are your concern, there are lots for you to enjoy.

For more recipes visit Bord Bia.

*Originally published in July 2021. Updated in October 2024.