Fish stew

• 1 kg seafood (red mullet, sole, scorpion fish or gurnard, hake, monkfish, baby squid, Balmain bugs, scampi or prawns etc)
• 300 g clams and mussels
• 600 g ripe tomatoes
• 1 red capsicum
• 3 garlic cloves
• 2 hot chillies, finely sliced
• 100 ml extra virgin olive oil
• 1 bunch of herbs (basil, parsley), minced
• Salt

1. Clean the red mullet and sole keeping them whole. Remove the head from the scorpion fish and cut into pieces together with the hake and monkfish. Clean the squid. Rinse the bugs and scampi maintaining the shell.
2. Rinse the clams which have been soaking in cold water and salt for at least 2 hours. Brush the mussels clean. Open clams and mussels in a pan over high heat. Discard any which have not opened.
3. Blanch the tomatoes, remove skin and slice finely. Cut capsicum into fine strips.
4. In a terracotta pot, sauté the garlic and the chillies in oil, then add the tomatoes, the capsicum, parsley and basil.
5. Cook sauce for about 10 minutes before seasoning with salt and add the scorpion fish, hake, monkfish. After another 5 minutes add remaining seafood in this order: squid, sole, red mullet and 5 minutes later, the bugs and scampi. Cover and cook for another 6-7 minutes, occasionally giving the pot a gentle shake. Lastly toss in the mussels and clams. If the sauce is too thick, pour in some of the shellfish liquid (well-filtered). Serve hot.