Seasonal Recipe of the Week
This is a recipe which has a name only Helga Ancona can pronounce, so let's just go with Brazilian fish stew at the moment. It is traditionally made with a number of kinds of fresh, seasonally available fish but for the sake of argument, let's use salmon, which is readily available here.
Ingredients for marinade
1 1/2 pound wild salmon fillets
28 oz. can of peeled whole tomatoes, undrained
1 onion, peeled and roughly chopped
1 cup cilantro, chopped
2 garlic cloves, cut in half
1 Serrano chile pepper, stemmed and cut in half (use the seeds, too, if you want your stew to be pretty spicy)
1/4 cup lime juice
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 teaspoon sea salt
Procedure
Place fish in a shallow non-reactive (non-metal) bowl. Combine the tomatoes, onion, cilantro, garlic, chile pepper, lime juice, oil and salt in a food processor fitted with the metal blade (or a blender). Process until smooth and pour over fish. Allow to marinate for 30 minutes to 1 hour.
Ingredients for stew
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 large sweet potato, peeled and diced
1 zucchini, chopped
1 green pepper, chopped
1 red pepper, chopped
1/2 cup water (or fish stock)
3/4 cup coconut milk
1/2 cup minced green onion (bottom parts only), for garnish
1/2 cup cilantro, chopped, for garnish
Procedure
Heat olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add diced sweet potato and cook for 10-15 minutes, adding a little water if needed so it doesn’t burn, until softened. Add zucchini, green and red pepper and continue to cook until tender, about 5-7 minutes, again adding water to the pan, if needed. Add water or fish stock and stir in coconut milk. Bring to a boil, reduce heat, and simmer 2 to 3 minutes.
Add fish and marinade and simmer for 10-15 minutes, or until fish flakes easily with a fork. Just before serving, stir in green onion and cilantro. Serve alone or over rice.
