seafood cassoulet with saffron, parsley, dill & tarragon

"The cassoulet is a great alternative to the old heavy French duck cassoulet and easy to prepare ahead of time." Paul Baker

Author

Paul Baker, Botanic Gardens Restaurant Adelaide

Ingredients

• 400g haricot beans, dried
• 1kg mussels
• 500g baby octopus
• 12 king prawns
• 1 bulb fennel, finely chopped
• 3 sticks celery, finely chopped
• 1 brown onion, finely chopped
• 2 red chillies, finely chopped
• 3 cloves garlic, finely chopped
• 1 orange peel
• 2 cinnamon sticks
• 3 star anise
• 1 tbsp fennel seeds
• 400g can of diced tomatoes
• 1g saffron
• 500ml white wine
• 1L fish stock
• 150ml Mount Zero Organic Extra Virgin Olive Oil
• 100g bread crumbs
• ½ cup picked parsley
• ½ cup picked tarragon
• ½ cup dill, finely chopped

Directions

1. Soak the haricot beans overnight in lots of water.
2. Steam the mussels with salted water and remove the meat from the shell. Set aside.
3. Slice each baby octopus in half, then chargrill on a barbecue or griddle pan. Set aside.
4. Next grill the prawns and slice in half through the middle. Set aside.
5. In a good glug of olive oil, sweat off the fennel, onion, celery, garlic and chilli. When softened, add the drained haricot beans, spice bag and orange peel and cook for a further couple of minutes.
6. Add tomatoes and saffron, allowing the tomatoes to break down slightly and saffron to infuse. Add white wine and cook for 2-3 minutes until the alcohol has cooked off.
7. Add in stock and octopus and bring to a boil. Turn down to a simmer and occasionally stir for the next 1-1.5 hours, or until beans are soft and creamy in texture and octopus is tender.
8. Spoon mixture evenly into ramekin dishes.
9. Arrange mussels and prawns on top. and sprinkle bread crumbs and place back into oven for 5 minutes.
10. Finish with a drizzle with olive oil and chopped fresh herbs.