Friendship Fish Stew with Halibut and Salmon

A dear friend, Micsandra Dutca, better known as Miki, first got me into her family's fish stew served with polenta. She served up this pure comfort dish for brunch on the last day of a wonderfully relaxing trip along British Columbia's Sunshine Coast. It was the perfect send-off meal.

Fast forward to my 30th birthday; I find a gorgeous gift of fillets of salmon and halibut caught by Miki and Dylan stashed in my freezer. Motivated to honour my friends' harvest, I pulled together my version of the traditional Romanian fish stew using what was in my fridge and cupboards—appropriately naming it Friendship Fish Stew.

Like all of my recipes, primarily savoury dishes, they do not require exact measurements. Use what you have and how much you have; taste, adjust, and taste again; better known as cooking from the heart. An old roommate used to poke his head into the kitchen while I was cooking and ask, "are you cooking from the heart (again) or following a recipe?" Although his tone often meant dinner would be a hit or miss tonight if I were cooking from the heart.

What type of fish or cut you have is not essential. Adjust the recipe by being mindful of cooking time. For example, if it's a thinner fillet, cook it quicker, and if it's thicker, let it gently simmer for longer.

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Friendship Fish Stew

Yield: 4

Author: Jenny Ly

Prep time: 15 HourCook time: 45 HourTotal time: 60 Hour

A Romanian fish stew with some Asian and Italian influences.

Ingredients

• 16 ounces of fish, cut into 2-4 fillets
• 4 tablespoons, high smoke point oil (grapeseed or avocado etc.)
• 1 white onion, sliced
• 3 cloves of garlic, sliced
• 4 Roma tomatoes, diced
• 1 green bell pepper, sliced
• 1 carrot, sliced thin
• 4 sundried tomatoes, sliced
• 12 olives Kalamata olives, deseeded
• 1/2 tablespoon smoked paprika
• 1/2 tablespoon fish sauce
• 1 teaspoon dried thyme
• 1 teaspoon Chinese chicken stock powder
• 1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• Salt to taste
• Freshly chopped parsley to garnish (optional)

Instructions

1. A day before prep the fish, pat it dry, salt it generously on both sides and put it on a rack in the fridge uncovered for 24hrs. You will create a dry surface for a deep brown sear by doing this. Not essential, but an excellent step if you have thicker fillets of fish with the skin on. You are getting that skin crispy and letting it absorb all the juices of the stew, flavours the sauce. It also makes the skin less slimy to eat. Fish skin has excellent vitamins and omega-3 fatty acids.
2. Prep the veggies, chop them all to a similar size: tomatoes, white onion, bell pepper, carrot. Roughly dice olives, sun-dried tomatoes and slice the garlic. Set aside close to the stove.
3. Take the fish out, pat it dry again, rub it in oil. Using a deep, wide pan with a lid, heat 2 tablespoons of oil until hot, add fish skin down, until crispy, flip over for a quick sear on top. You want the middle to be rare because it will finish cooking it in the stew later. Remove fish, set aside.
4. Using the same pan, add more oil. Then add onions, satay until just translucent for about 3 minutes. Add onion and garlic, satay until fragrant, about 2 minutes, and then add the rest of the veggies in tomato, bell pepper, carrot, sun-dried tomatoes, and olives. Season the vegetables with smoked paprika, thyme, Chinese chicken stock powder, fish sauce, black pepper. Let it cook down for another 3 minutes. Then add about 3/4 cup of water, bring it to a boil, turn down the heat to a simmer and let it cook with the lid on the pan until things soften and turn stew-like. You can also use a potato masher to squish the tomatoes to help the sauce thicken up. It should take around 15 to 20 minutes.
5. While the stew is cooking, use this time to start on the polenta. Whisk in polenta, water and a pinch of salt over the stove, bring to a boil, turn down the heat to a simmer and stir every few minutes. Add more water if it's too thick and a knob of butter to finish; this is all personal preference.
6. Slide back in the fillets of fish, on top of the stew, put the lid back on, and let it gently simmer until fish is cooked through. If the fillets are thin, I recommend turning off the heat and letting it sit in the hot stew with the lid on for 5-10 minutes. Taste the stew, add a few more squirts of fish sauce if needed.
7. Serve fish stew on top of the polenta and garnish with fresh chopped parsley. Eat right away!

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If you’re looking to learn how to hunt and forage for wild foods, Dylan Eyers and his better half Miki, runs a tight ship at Eatwild.

Happy Cooking!

Jenny