Sea bass and Fennel Tagine

While Tyler and I are sometimes adventurous enough to "wing it" in the kitchen we often use recipes in cookbooks. This stew comes from Meditteranean by Joanna Farrow and Jacqueline Clarke.

stew

1 1/2 pounds sea bass or other whitefish

8 oz. shrimp

2 Tbs. olive oil

1 bulb fennel

1 onion

2 cups fish broth or weak chicken stock

8 oz. new or waxy potatoes cut into large pieces

chermoula

4 tsp. paprika

4 tsp. ground cumin

3 Tbs. white vinegar

1 Tbs. lemon juice

2 cloves of garlic crushed

2 Tbs. chopped fresh cilantro

2 Tbs. chopped fresh Italian parsley

Assemble the chermoula first. Shell, tail, and devein the shrimp. Cut the whitefish into large bitesize pieces. Place the seafood in separate shallow containers and coat each in half of the chermoula mixture. Cover fish and place in refrigerator for at least 30 minutes and up to 2 hours. In a large dutch oven heat the olive oil on medium. Add the onion sauteing for 2 minutes. To this add the fennel and cook until the vegetables begin to catch the bottom of the pot and brown. Add the stock and scrape up the yummy brown bits on the bottom of the pot. To this add the potatoes, cover and simmer until they are tender - about 15 minutes. Uncover pot, test the potatoes, if they are just about cooked, add the whitefish taking care to also add all the chermoula. Make sure the pot is at a low simmer so the fish doesn't fall apart too much. After about 4 minutes add the shrimp which will take an additional 2 minutes to cook. Serve with a crusty baguette, good quality olive oil (for drizzling) and kosher salt.