That looks fishy! Easy fish stew (Fish)

Member Name: Suzela

Product:	Fish
Date:	09/03/09 (394 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Quick, healthy and tasty

Disadvantages: Not good if you don't like fish

I love fish and seafood. There was always something really exotic about it when I was growing up. My gran even used to make boil in the bag cod with parsley sauce seem attractive (although not sure I would go for this now!). But in recent years fish has become a main staple in our diet as it is usually low fat, full of Omega 3 and all the other good oils and it is quick and simple to cook.

However a while there are only so many fish pies, fish fillets, whole fish and fish steaks that you can eat and I was looking for a nice healthy fish stew to cook. So browsing through my cook books I stumbled across a spicy tomato based fish stew which I have adapted over the years and is great with both fresh and frozen fish and can have seafood added as well if you are feeling a little indulgent. There are a couple of favourite variations that I will share with you too.

Spicy fish stew - main version (serves 4)

Ingredients

Preparation time: 10 minutes
Cooking time: 25 minutes

4 fresh thick cod steaks (or any firm white fish - monkfish is lovely as well)
1 tablespoon of olive oil or 10 squirts of Frylight olive spray or similar if you want an even healthier option.
1 green chilli (you can use red)*
1 large onion
1 green pepper diced
1 stick of celery
1 tin of chopped tomatoes
1 pint of vegetable stock
Juice and zest of 1 lime
1 tablespoon of tomato puree
salt and pepper to taste
handful of chopped coriander.
Rice to accompany

* you can chop the chilli and leave the seeds in if you want to or you can chop and deseed it depending on how "hot" you like your food. But I find the best way to get a background heat without having to endure biting into bits of chilli is to cut the chilli length ways but leaving the top in tact and then popping it into a dish. That way you get the benefit of the seeds and the flavour of the chilli and you can fish it out before serving.

Method

1. Chop the onion finely
2. Chop and dice the pepper and celery into quite chunky pieces.
3. Heat a large pan and add the oil
4. Add the onions and cook until softened and then add the pepper, chilli and celery until they begin to soften.
5. Add the tomatoes and mix thoroughly. Cook for 5 minutes.
6. Add the vegetable stock, lime juice and lime zest and bring to the boil for 5 minutes.
7. Reduce to a simmer and add the tomato puree. Stir well
8. Add the cod steaks.
9. Put the lid on the pan and cook for 10 minutes or until the cod steaks are starting to flake but not fall apart.
10. Turn off the heat and add the chopped coriander reserving some for a garnish. Taste and season as appropriate. Serve with rice and sprinkle with coriander.

What you get is an incredibly fresh tasting stew and delicate fish with the rice soaking up any of the lovely juices. The lime, chilli and coriander give the dish an asian influence but of course you can leave out these elements and replace the coriander with flat leaf parsley and you still have a lovely tasty meal. The best bit is you can make this in a hurry and yet not have to worry about the usual calories that fast food brings. It has always gone down well with guests who also love some of my variations.

Here are some of the variations I have found to be quite successful over the years.

The Store Cupboard version.

Ingredients
3 frozen white fish fillets (cod, haddock, hake or coley work well)
1 tablespoon of olive oil or 10 squirts of Frylight olive spray or similar if you want an even healthier option.
1 teaspoon of mild chilli powder if desired
1 large onion
1 tin of chopped tomatoes
300g of frozen peas
1 pint of vegetable stock
1 tablespoon of tomato puree
salt and pepper to taste
Mixed dried herbs.
Rice to accompany

Method

1. Chop the onion finely
2. Heat a large pan and add the oil
3. Add the onions and lay the fish fillets (still frozen) over the top of the onions. Cover with the lid for 5 minutes.
4. The fish should be nearly defrosted by now so add the tomatoes and the chilli powder and mix thoroughly. Cook for 5 minutes.
5. Add the vegetable stock and the mixed herbs and bring to the boil for 5 minutes.
6. Reduce to a simmer and add the tomato puree. Stir well and cook with the lid on for 10 minutes or until the fish flakes easily into small pieces.
7. Turn off the heat and add the peas to heat through. Taste and season as appropriate. Serve with rice and sprinkle with coriander.

This is a great standby meal. It isn't as fresh tasting as the one above but it is just as wholesome and filling and always goes down well.

Mediterranean Version

4 fresh thick cod steaks (or any firm white fish - monkfish is lovely as well)
20 large fresh tiger prawns (you can use cooked ones but they should be added in right at the end)
1 tablespoon of olive oil or 10 squirts of Frylight olive spray or similar if you want an even healthier option.
1 green chilli (you can use red)
1 large onion
1 green pepper diced
1 bulb of fennel diced
1 stick of celery
100g of pitted black olives (either halved or left whole)*
1 tin of chopped tomatoes
1 pint of vegetable stock
1 tablespoon of tomato puree
salt and pepper to taste
handful of chopped flat leaf parsley.
Rice to accompany

* you don't have to use 100g of olives - these can be omitted or you can add just a few depending on your tastes.

Method

1. Chop the onion finely
2. Chop and dice the pepper, fennel and celery into quite chunky pieces.
3. Heat a large pan and add the oil
4. Add the onions and cook until softened and then add the pepper, chilli and celery until they begin to soften.
5. Add the tomatoes and mix thoroughly. Cook for 5 minutes.
6. Add the vegetable stock, and bring to the boil for 5 minutes.
7. Reduce to a simmer and add the tomato puree and the olives. Stir well
8. Add the cod steaks.
9. Put the lid on the pan and cook for 8 minutes and then add the fresh prawns.
10. Replace the lid and cook until the prawns are cooked and the cod steaks are starting to flake but not fall apart.
10. Turn off the heat and add the chopped parsley reserving some for a garnish. Taste and season as appropriate. Serve with rice and sprinkle with parsley.

This is quite a luxurious version of this dish. The fennel adds a lovely hint of aniseed which goes so well with fish and the prawns add a nice opulent feel. The olives give it a nice kick and the black against the white, green and red of the dish looks great.

So if you are stuck for a fishy dish I would thoroughly recommend these ideas to you. You can easily adapt them and they are quick and healthy so you can't really lose!

Enjoy!

Summary: Yummy!