I have absolutely no idea if this dish has any Greek roots but it just reminds me of those oh-so-wholesome stewy-fish dishes that you often find in Greek tavernas. The ones located right next to the sea, with a bamboo awning, covering you from the hot sun as the water laps at your feet. The ones where the fish is so fresh, you’ve just watched it being caught.
Unfortunately, despite pretty close to the Adriatic now, we’re not good at fishing and so our tuna was of the frozen variety. But handily in cubes – so perfectly cut already for a stew or a skewer on the barbecue. I like nothing more than a good stew, where everything is tossed into one pot or pan and allowed to just bubble away and get on with things, and this is pretty much what this dish is.
what you’ll need
- tuna – we used frozen cubes, but if you fancy cutting up fresh tuna, that’d work just as well, if not better
- two large potatoes, peeled and cubed
- two peppers, de-seeded and roughly chopped
- one fresh chilli, de-seeded and chopped finely
- two large cloves of garlic, crushed or finely sliced
- one large onion, roughly chopped
- chopped fresh tomatoes
- olive oil
- chilli flakes
- veggie (or fish, if you prefer) stock
- a glug of white wine
- salt & pepper
- fresh parsley
what you’ll need to do
- Sear the tuna cubes (sprinkled with sea salt) in a skillet, with olive oil (just a couple of tablespoons) on a high heat, for about 3 minutes, turning all the time so that all sides brown. Set aside on a plate.
- Boil the peeled and cubed potatoes.
- Saute the garlic, onions, peppers and fresh chillies until soft. Season with salt and pepper and a sprinkling of dried chilli flakes.
- Add the boiled potato cubes and roughly chopped fresh tomatoes, with about two cups of veggie stock (or fish stock), and a splash of white wine.
- Simmer for about 30 minutes, until the liquid begins to turn to a light broth consistency.
- Take off the heat and add the browned tuna cubes and sprinkle with fresh parsley. Leave for about three minutes for the the tuna to begin to soak up the broth.
Serve with crusty bread or sourdough, or as we did, warm pitta breads. Summer in a bowl…
