No-fuss fish: Fish stew with chorizo, bay and tomatoes 

This cosy oven-baked stew is perfect for chilly evenings. The chorizo brings a wonderfully smoky richness to a gorgeously autumnal dish.

SERVES 2

70g cooking chorizo, cut into very small chunks

2 small onions, thinly sliced

2 garlic cloves, sliced

1 fresh bay leaf

1 rosemary sprig

pinch of chilli flakes

1 celery stick, thinly sliced

4 tbsp olive oil

150ml vermouth (eg Noilly Prat)

1 fish stock cube, diluted with 600ml boiling water

450g tomatoes, deseeded and roughly chopped

200g potatoes, peeled and cut into little chunks (about 2.5cm)

300g cod loin, skinned and cut into 5cm chunks

200g live mussels

sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

lemon wedges, to serve

• Preheat your oven to 220C/200C fan/gas 7. In a medium-sized roasting tin, toss together the chorizo, onions, garlic, bay, rosemary, chilli flakes, celery and olive oil. Pop into the oven for about 10-15 minutes until the onions and celery are tender and turning golden.
• Remove the roasting tin from the oven and pour in the vermouth and fish stock. Stir through the tomatoes, then season and return to the oven for 5 minutes.
• Remove the tin from the oven and stir in the potatoes. Return to the oven for about 15 minutes until the potatoes are just tender to the point of a knife.
• Remove the tin from the oven once more and tuck the fish and mussels into the stew. Return to the oven for a final 5-6 minutes until the fish is opaque and the mussels pop open (discard any that remain closed). Serve with the lemon wedges.

ALSO WORKS WELL with clams and firm white fish fillets such as pollock, haddock, monkfish or hake.