Light Marmite Dieppoise (Normandy Seafood Stew)

📝 Ingredients

• 400 g cod fillet
• 1 kg rope-grown mussels (about 200 g meat once cooked)
• 200 g raw peeled prawns
• 2 leeks (about 350 g once trimmed)
• 250 g button mushrooms
• 2 shallots (about 60 g)
• 200 ml apple juice
• 1 vegetable stock cube + 300 ml hot water
• 150 ml light cream 15 % + 1 tbsp cornflour
• 15 g butter
• 240 g basmati rice
• 10 g fresh parsley
• Salt, black pepper

🍴 Utensils

• Large casserole dish with lid
• Large saucepan
• Fine sieve
• Mixing bowl
• Chopping board and knife

📖 Steps

1. Clean the mussels under cold water: pull off the beards towards the hinge and discard any that are broken or stay open when tapped. Cut the cod into 8 large 4 cm cubes and keep in the fridge.
2. Rinse the rice, tip it into a large pan of salted boiling water and cook at a gentle boil for 10 to 12 minutes, until tender. Drain and keep covered. Thinly slice the leeks, finely chop the shallots and slice the mushrooms.
3. Pour the apple juice into the casserole dish with the mussels, cover and cook over a high heat for 4 to 5 minutes, shaking the pot twice, until all the mussels have opened. Discard any that stay closed.
4. Drain the mussels over a mixing bowl to catch all their juices, then strain the juices through a fine sieve as they may contain sand. Shell the mussels, keeping a few in their shells for presentation if you like.
5. Rinse and wipe out the casserole dish, then melt the butter in it over a medium heat. Add the shallots, leeks and mushrooms and sweat for 8 to 10 minutes, stirring, until the leeks are meltingly soft but not coloured.
6. Pour in the strained mussel juices and the stock cube dissolved in 300 ml hot water, then bring to a simmer. Mix the cornflour into the cold cream, stir it in and leave to thicken for 2 minutes over a low heat: the broth should become slightly creamy, like a thin velouté.
7. Place the cod cubes in the simmering sauce, cover and poach for 5 minutes over a low heat without boiling, or the fish will fall apart. Add the prawns and cook for another 2 to 3 minutes, until pink and opaque.
8. Add the shelled mussels and heat for just 1 minute, or they'll turn rubbery. Taste, season with pepper and add very little salt, as the mussel juices are already salty. Sprinkle with chopped parsley and serve in shallow bowls with the rice.