Waterzooi

Recently in Bruges we tried the famous Belgian fish (or chicken) stew, washed down with Bruges Zot, the great local beer. The fish version can be made with any combination of available white fish, mussels, shrimp and eels. Here's my version:

Serves two

Ingredients

300g fish fillets, prepared and cut into large chunks
8 small waxy potatoes, scrubbed
100 ml cream
550 ml vegetable stock
15g butter
small handful of flour
1 leek, sliced finely
celery, cut into julienne
carrot, cut into julienne
1 white onion, finely sliced
1 handful of fresh tarragon and flat leaf parsley
Juice of half a lemon
salt and white pepper to taste

Method

Make the vegetable stock and leave to cool (I'll post a recipe for vegetable stock sometime - if you're stuck, use a good quality bought stock)
Bring a large pan of salted water to the boil and cook the potatoes for 15 minutes or until tender. Drain and set aside.
Clean the pan, put in the butter and flour and stir constantly over a medium heat to make a roux. Gradually add a little of the stock, stirring to make the basis of the sauce. It should start to thicken after a few minutes. Add the vegetables (not the potatoes) and lemon juice, mix well, then add the rest of the stock.
Simmer for ten minutes then add the potatoes and fish. Cook covered for just a few minutes until the fish is just done, stirring gently so as not to break up the fish too much.
Using a draining spoon, arrange the fish chunks and potatoes in warm bowls.
Add the herbs and cream to the remaining sauce and vegetables, stir well, then pour over the fish and potatoes.

If you're using mussels, cook them separately in a pan, covered, with a splash of white wine (or Belgian beer) for a couple of minutes, shaking the pan. Discard any that don't open. Set them and their cooking liquor aside and add them to the main dish near the end, when you arrange the fish in the bowls.