Wild Alaska Pollock, Butter Bean and Chorizo Cassoulet

Ingredients

• 100g (4oz) lardons or smoked streaky bacon, chopped
• 1 red or white onion, chopped
• 1 green pepper, deseeded and sliced
• 1 garlic clove, crushed
• 100g (4oz) chorizo or salami, chopped
• 2 x 410g cans butter beans
• 300g (10oz) frozen fillets wild Alaska pollock, cut into chunks
• 150ml (¼pt) hot vegetable stock
• 12 cherry tomatoes, halved
• 2 tbsp chopped fresh flat leaf parsley
• Salt and freshly ground black pepper

Method

Heat a heavy-based saucepan or flameproof casserole dish and add the lardons or streaky bacon. Cook over a medium-high heat until crispy. Lift them out with a draining spoon and set to one side.

Add the onion, green pepper and garlic to the saucepan and fry gently in the fat from the lardons or bacon for 3 or 4 minutes, then stir in the chorizo or salami and tip in the canned butter beans (do not drain them).

Add the chunks of pollock fillet and the hot stock, then heat and simmer, partially covered, for 10 to 12 minutes, or until the fish is cooked – the flesh should be opaque and flake easily.

Add the cherry tomatoes and lardons or bacon, stirring them through. Season to taste, then serve sprinkled with the parsley.

Cook’s tip: Use canned mixed beans or cannellini beans instead of butter beans, if you like.