Recipe and styling by Anthony Telford and Sydney P

Serving size: Serves 6
Cuisine type: American
Cooking time: More than 1 hour
Course: Main
Favourite flavours: Seafood, Spicy

INGREDIENTS

80ml (1/3 cup) olive oil
50g (1/3 cup) plain flour
4 cloves garlic, finely chopped
1 onion, peeled and finely chopped
2 sticks of celery, finely chopped
1 red capsicum, de-seeded and finely chopped
1 green capsicum, de-seeded and finely chopped
1 litre (4 cups) fish stock
800g tinned tomatoes, drained and chopped
4 tablespoons tomato paste
2 bay leaves
1 teaspoon dried oregano
2 teaspoon dried thyme leaves
1 teaspoon cayenne pepper
2 tablespoons of Worcestershire Sauce
A good dash of Tabasco sauce
12 green prawns, peeled and de-veined
18 black mussels
1kg white fish fillets
6 blue swimmer crab claws, cooked
3-4 cups cooked rice
salt
pepper
fresh basil leaves
fresh thyme leaves

METHOD

Put the flour and oil into a large saucepan. Stir constantly over gentle heat until flour turns light brown (about 10-15 minutes). Stir in strained stock and cook for 5-6 minutes, stirring all the time until thickens. Stir in the vegetables and cook over a low heat for 5-6 minutes. Stir in tomatoes, tomato paste, herbs, sauces and spices. Bring to the boil, turn the heat down and simmer for 40 minutes. Stir in all the seafood except crab claws, and poach for 3-4 minutes until cooked. Season with Tabasco sauce and salt and pepper. Spoon ½ cup of rice into each bowl and ladle over the soup. Decorate with crab claws, fresh basil and thyme.