Portuguese chowder

Method

Rinse the fish, setting aside any large fillets, salt everything lightly, and reserve.

Heat the olive oil in a roomy saucepan. Fry the onions and garlic gently for 10 minutes, till soft and golden - don't let them brown. Add the red pepper and fry for another 5 minutes. Add the tomatoes, tomato paste, piri-piri or chilli paste and bay leaves, and bubble up for a minute until the tomato flesh collapses (if using passata, just stir it in). Pour in the wine and bubble up again till the steam no longer smells of alcohol. Add the fish and a litre of cold water - enough to cover the fish generously - bring back to the boil, turn down the heat, add a little salt and simmer for 20-30 minutes, until the fish is mushy and soft. Add more boiling water as needed. 

Mash the fish thoroughly and press everything through a potato-ricer, or blitz in the processor and push through a sieve. Discard the debris and return the broth to the pan. Bring back to the boil, add the potato, reheat until bubbling, turn down the heat, taste and season, and simmer gently for 15-20 minutes, until the potato is perfectly soft. Add any reserved fish pieces, raw or cooked, and reheat till just bubbling (if using raw fish, allow long enough for the flesh to turn opaque). The bubbling broth forms an emulsion with the oil - there's no other thickening agent - and must be served hot. If it separates, bubble it up again and it will re-thicken. Magic.

Ladle into deep bowls and finish with coriander leaves and a few slivers of chilli. Serve with rough country bread for mopping: perfect with Portuguese broa (cornmeal bread)