Fiona Booth works in Broughton, lives in Broughton, and cooks in Broughton. She also writes her own food blog for fun – Fifi Goes Nom! – which Spurtle enjoys so much we decided to pinch bits of it here on a monthly basis. To visit Fiona's site in its mouthwatering entirety, follow the link at the foot of this page.
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I’m not entirely convinced that this recipe is in any way authentically Creole, but it is authentically delicious and isn’t that what really matters? It’s also another one of my mum’s recipes that I’ve been cooking since Uni (at least), but I’d always made it with chicken … until now! Mum made us her fish version last month and the whole family were completely converted, so much so that I don’t think I’ll ever make it with chicken again – tasty as that was, with fish it’s even tastier
This is a properly comforting dish and is perfect for chasing the last lingering bite of winter away. The warmth of the paprika and chilli just goes so well with the garlicky tomatoey stew, and its heartiness is a perfect contrast to the delicate flakey buttery cod.
Speaking of butter … This is a dish that loves butter, and lots of it. I’ve tried subbing corn oil in an attempt to make it healthier but ended up with a pale shadow of the real thing, so much so that I’d rather not have it if I can’t go all out on the butter in a James Martin style. My compromise, then, is to just not make this too often.
If you do want to make it with chicken instead then use thighs not breast (so much more flavour), keep the pieces pretty big and sauté off to seal and brown before cooking in the stew for 30 minutes.
PS – How cute are my little fishy bowls! They’re actually measuring cups but serving fish in them was too good an opportunity to miss.
STUFF YOU'LL NEED ...
400g cod fillets (or other firm, white fish)
1 white onion, sliced (chunky rather than fine)
4 cloves garlic, minced
1 green pepper, cut into vaguely triangular shapes
1 can chopped tomatoes
1 tsp paprika (not smokey)
1/4 tsp cayenne pepper
1 chicken stock cube or pot
pinch of sugar
butter
juice of 1 lemon
white flour
salt and pepper
COOK!
Add the tomatoes, spices, chicken stock cube and a generous pinch of sugar. Fill the empty tomato can about a quarter full with water and give it a good swirl to pick up any last bits of tomato, and add.
Now, the measurements I’ve given for the spice are probably a little cautious. That and I’ve long since stopped using actual measures of spice for this dish so don’t actually know what the measures are. Taste and add more paprika and/or chilli to suit.
Leave the tomtoey stew to simmer away for 30 minutes.
Shake some flour onto a dinner plate and season with salt and pepper. Roll your fish chunks in the flour to just coat them, and then lift out with a shake to get rid of any excess flour.
In a frying pan, melt another generous tablespoon of butter and as soon as it starts to bubble lay your fish chunks gently in the pan. Give them 2–3 minutes and then gently turn over. The flour should colour up nicely so that you’ve got some lovely brown bits on the fish. Give the other side 2–3 minutes as well and then move the pieces of fish from the frying pan into the tomatoey stew. Add the lemon juice and then give everything a gentle stir before leaving to simmer for 12–15 minutes, or until the fish is cooked through. Add a final tablespoon of butter to give the sauce a lovely glossy sheen, stirring until it melts.
Serve on a bed of fluffy white rice, and try not to think of all that butter … ☺
There are plenty more recipes, tasty tips and foodie thoughts on Fiona's own blog at www.fifigoesnom.com/