Experimenting with Moroccan fish and vegetable stew

Awhile ago a recipe posted by @foodista caught my eye on Twitter - twas a recipe for African vegetarian stew. Just the sound of the title enticed me - a quick look of ingredients revealed a tasty sounding stew filled with root vegetables like kohlrabi and sweet potatoes as well as chickpeas, tomato and lots of lovely north African spices.

Two things were missing for me: first, harissa, potentially the single-best condiment ever put on this Earth. It's fab as a marinade, in a sauce, or as a dip. (I like it on oat biscuits too with a bit of cheddar.) It's spicy, but deeply spicy, and just the thing in North African cooking. Secondly, I fancied a bit more protein, in the form of some haddock.

But you know what it's like - one tweak begets another.  Out goes the kolhrabi, in comes the swede. Out goes the couscous, in comes the pearl barley. Out goes the raisins, in come the figs. But all in all, I think I've kept the same essence of the dish, just made it a bit more accessible (and tasty, I like to think...)

And on the upside, it's really healthy (very low fat, as no oil was needed), super quick to make (bung in all in a pot and let it simmer), and most importantly, quite filling indeed. The recipe below makes four sizable servings - we had two of them last night and will have two more tonight. Just the thing for a crisp autumn evening.

Moroccan fish and vegetable stew

(serves 4)

1 small swede, peeled and diced
1 large onion, diced
2 sweet potatoes, peeled and diced
1 courgette, sliced thickly
1 tin of chopped tomatoes

1 tin tomato puree
1 tin chickpeas, drained and rinsed
100 g pearl barley, rinsed (or bulgur wheat or couscous, if you prefer)

50 g dried figs (or raisins, if you prefer)
1 tsp turmeric
1 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp ground ginger
2 tbsp cumin
3 tins water

salt/pepper
200 g white fish (haddock works well)

2 tbsp harissa

freshly chopped coriander

I shall keep this simple: all you do is chuck everything except the fish/harissa into a pot, bring to a boil, and simmer for 45 min. Meanwhile, cut the fish into chunks and marinate with the harissa. About 5 min before serving, drop the fish and the freshly chopped coriander in and allow it to poach.

Calories per serving: 366. That is proper good value for money for such a tasty, filling dish. I was worried the figs might put my husband off, but he loved them. It's a good thing too, since we're eating it again tonight...