Couscous trapanese

Step 1: Warm 5 tbsp olive oil in a large pot over a medium heat and cook 1 onion and 3 garlic cloves until soft.

Step 2: Stir in 1 ¾ oz blanched almonds and 2 tbsp tomato paste for 1 minute, then add 14 oz tinned chopped tomatoes, 1 ¾ lb fish heads and bones, 8 ¼ cups water, 2 bay leaves, 1 pinch saffron threads, ½ tsp dried chilli flakes and 2 tsp salt. Simmer gently, skimming any foam, until the broth tastes rich and fishy.

Step 3: Strain the broth through a sieve into a clean pot, pressing hard on the solids. Taste for salt; it should be well seasoned.

Step 4: Bring the broth back to a bare simmer. Add 2 ¼ lb mixed firm white fish and poach gently until the fish is opaque and flakes easily, adding 12 raw prawns in their shells for the last 3 minutes until pink right through.

Step 5: Lift the fish and prawns into a warm dish with a ladle of broth, cover and keep warm.

Step 6: Put 1 ⅛ lb couscous in a large bowl and rub in 2 tbsp olive oil and 1 pinch ground cinnamon with your fingers so every grain is coated.

Step 7: Pour over enough hot broth to cover the couscous by 1 cm (about 750 ml), stir once, then cover tightly with a plate and a cloth. Leave it for 20 minutes. Don't lift the lid or stir in that time: that's the usual reason the couscous turns gluey or stays hard.

Step 8: Fluff the couscous with a fork, adding a little more broth if it seems dry. Pile it on a platter with the fish and prawns, scatter with parsley and serve with bowls of the remaining hot broth.