This Fish and Bean Stew is a rich, flavourful meal, perfect for when you’re craving something comforting without spending hours in the kitchen.
Even as the weather warms up, I still enjoy a cozy bowl of soup or stew. This recipe hits the spot: it satisfies my craving for something warm and delicious, yet it comes together in under 30 minutes. It’s also ideal for a quick weeknight dinner. I like to think of it as a richer, heartier and quicker version of aljotta, the classic Maltese fish soup.
How to make this fish and bean stew
In a large pot over medium heat, heat the olive oil and sauté the onion, garlic, celery, and carrot for about 7 minutes until softened. Stir in the tomato paste, chili flakes, dried oregano, and paprika, and cook for a minute or two until fragrant. Add the canned tomatoes, beans, basil, and fish stock, then let everything simmer for about 10 minutes. Gently add the fish chunks along with the spinach, olives, and capers, and continue cooking for another 8 minutes, or until the fish is just cooked through. Finish the stew with a squeeze of lemon juice and season with salt and pepper to taste. Serve warm with a side of crusty bread and, if desired, a sprinkle of feta cheese on top.
FAQs
How to store the soup?
Store any leftovers in the fridge in an airtight container for not more than 3 days. Reheat before serving. Alternatively, you can prepare the bean stew in advance and only add the fish when you are going to actually eat it.
What beans can I use?
For this recipe I have specifically used large butter beans. You can either use dried beans, that they need to be soaked overnight and let cook on low heat for about 2 hours. However, you can easily also use canned beans. For this soup you can use any white beans, such as cannellini or butter beans. Or maybe mix a blend of beans suck as black eyed beans, kidney beans or chickpeas. The result will be just as tasty!
Fish and Bean Stew
Ingredients
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- 1 onion finely chopped
- 2 garlic cloves minced
- 1 small carrot diced (optional)
- 1 celery stalk diced
- 1 tsp tomato paste
- 400 g chopped tomatoes 1 can
- 1 tsp paprika
- 1/2 tsp chili flakes optional
- 1 tbsp dried oregano
- 1 tbsp fresh basil
- 250 ml fish stock
- 400 g cannellini or butter beans 1 can
- 400 g firm white fish e.g. lampuki, cod, sea bass, cut into chunks
- 60 g fresh spinach
- 1 tbsp capers
- 1 tbsp olives
- Juice of 1/2 lemon
- Salt and pepper to taste
- feta optional to serve
Instructions
- To a large pot, over medium heat, add the olive oil and sauté the onion, garlic, celery and carrot for about 7 minutes.
- Add the tomato paste, chili flakes, dried oregano and paprika. Cook until fragrant.
- To the pot add the canned tomatoes, beans, basil and fish stock. Cook for about 10 minutes.
- Gently place in the fish chunks, spinach, olives and capers. Cook for about 8 minutes until the fish is cooked.
- Finish the stew with the lemon juice and season with salt and pepper to taste.
- Serve warm with a side of bread and an optional sprinkle of feta cheese.
Nutrition
If you have any questions, feedback or comments on this recipe, please leave a comment below. Please also rate this recipe by double clicking on the stars below. If you did make this recipe, tag @apronandwhisk and hashtag #apronandwhisk, as I’m curious to see what you create! Don’t forget to subscribe to the mailing list down below so to received the recipe updates straight to your mailbox!
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