​​​​​​​​The slow food movement was founded in 1989 as a reaction against the rise of fast food and an increasingly rapid-paced world. The movement aims to bring the focus back to local food traditions, make people aware of where the food they eat comes from, how it should taste and how their food choices affect the rest of the world.

There is the belief that if we are all aware and take responsibility for our own actions when it comes to the food we eat, that we can then influence the global food system.

We are the food we eat but we have become disconnected from it that so much comes down to convenience and not about taking time to really nourish our bodies. This can have a devastating effect on all of us in the long run. By selecting locally grown, organic food where possible we cut down on air miles, waste and unnecessary use of chemicals.

Over the coming weeks we’ll be sharing with you simple, but delicious recipes you can take your time over to prepare and enjoy with friends.

To give you a taste of things to come, we’d like to share the recipe for spicy Mediterranean fish stew.

Ingredients:

• 3 tbsp olive oil

• 1 large onion, sliced

• 2 garlic cloves, sliced

• 1 red chilli, finely chopped

• 2 tbsp tomato purée

• 1kg tomatoes, roughly chopped

• 200ml white wine

• 350ml fish stock

• 3 strips orange zest

• 1kg skinless halibut fillets, cut into large chunks

• 500g clams

• 400g large raw prawns

• Handful flat-leaf parsley, chopped

For the garlic toasts:

• 1 large ciabatta loaf, cut into 1cm slices

• 5 tbsp olive oil

• 2 garlic cloves halved

Method:​

Heat the oil in a wide, deep frying pan. Add the onion and cook over a gentle heat for 5 minutes until softened. Stir through the garlic and chi​li and cook a couple of minutes more. Add the tomato purée and tomatoes. Turn up the heat and cook for 10-15 minutes, stirring until the tomatoes are pulpy. Pour over the wine and cook for 10 minutes more until most of it has boiled away.

Add the fish stock and orange zest and heat until gently simmering. Nestle the halibut chunks into the liquid and cook for 5 minutes. Add the clams and prawns and cook for 5 minutes more until the fish is cooked through and the clams have opened (discard any that haven’t). Sprinkle the parsley over the stew and serve with the garlic toasts.

To make the garlic toasts, drizzle the bread with oil, then griddle or grill until golden all over. While the toasts are still hot, rub them with garlic and set aside.

Share, savour, enjoy!