- 2 fennel bulb
- 2 onion
- 4 garlic cloves
- 2 tsp smoked paprika
- 4 large potatoes
- 80g tomato sauce
- 800g tinned cherry tomatoes
- A pinch or two of saffron powder
- 4 whiting fillets
- A handful of flat leaf parsley
- Sea salt
- Freshly ground pepper
- 2 tsp olive oil
- 250ml boiling water
- Deep frying pan or wok with a lid
- Vegetable peeler
- Baking tray (optional)
- 1.
Fill your kettle and boil it. Trim the base and any woody tips off the fennel. Pick off any wispy fronds and save them for later. Thinly slice the fennel. Peel and thinly slice the onion. Peel the garlic cloves and finely chop them.
- 2.
Pour 2 tsp oil into a deep frying pan or wok. Warm to a medium heat. Slide in the sliced fennel, onion and garlic. Add 1 tsp smoked paprika and a pinch of salt and pepper. Fry for 6-8 mins, stirring occasionally, till the veg are slightly softened.
- 3.
While the veg fry, peel and dice the potatoes into small pieces. Add the potatoes to the pan. Add the tomato sauce, the tinned cherry tomatoes and a pinch of saffron powder.
- 4.
Top the pan up with 250ml boiling water. Cover the pan with a lid (use a baking tray if your pan doesn’t have a lid). Bring to the boil, then reduce to a simmer for 12-15 mins or till the spuds are tender.
- 5.
Nestle the whiting fillets into the sauce. Cover again and cook for a further 5-6 mins, till the fish is cooked through and flaky when pressed with a fork. Taste the sauce and add more salt or pepper if you think it needs it.
- 6.
Finely chop the parsley. Divide the sauce and fish between a couple of shallow bowls and top with parsley and any fennel fronds to serve.