Something Fishy (Thanksgiving #3)

Well I promised a trio of posts, and here is my last tribute to the Thanksgiving holiday for this year.

At the prospect of facing turkey and those side dishes again, including all that pie, not to mention turkey sandwiches, by the time we are a couple of meals out from Thursday I am looking for something really different for dinner.

Some would see this as the perfect reason to eat out, but that is cheating. The real challenge here is to come up with something you don't hate to cook and past that, can consume with relish. Not easy after the binge that is Thanksgiving.

So I wanted something special for dinner. Something different. Something not too tricky to prepare. Something warm and stand alone.

As I so often do, I turned to the internet. I'd picked up some orange roughy Tuesday at the grocery store in anticipation of the need for a non-poultry protein option for Friday night's dinner. What I needed was a novel way to prepare it that would be quick, but would hold while I waited for my physician husband to finish what was turning out to be a gruesomely extended day of surgery and inpatient hospital visits.

And there it was. Dad's Fish Stew. A deliciously quick and easy solution to my problem. And here it is...give it a try and I think you'll agree. "Dad", whoever he is, was really on to something with this combination. Onion, tomato, garlic, some fish chunks gently cooked in wine and clam juice, along with just the right zip of spices really filled the bill. Mom may know best, but Dad gets a star for the stew.


Dad's Fish Stew
6 tbsp olive oil
1 cup of chopped onion
2-4 garlic cloves, minced
1/3 cup fresh parsley, chopped
1 cup chopped fresh tomato
2 teaspoons tomato paste
1/4 teaspoon oregano
1/4 teaspoon thyme
Tabasco, pepper, chipotle powder, chili powder or hot paprika to taste
8 ounces clam juice
2/3 cup dry white wine
1 to 1 1/2 pounds orange roughy (any firm white) fish fillets cut into 1 inch chunks
Salt to taste
Cooked rice

Heat olive oil in large heavy pot over medium high heat.

Add chopped onion and garlic and sauté 4 minutes.

Add parsley and stir two minutes.

Add tomato, tomato paste and cook two minutes longer. Add oregano, thyme, pepper, tabasco and other additional seasonings as desired.

Add clam juice, wine and fish. Simmer until fish is cooked through, around 10 minutes. Salt to taste and adjust seasonings as needed.

Serve hot over cooked rice. (Side note: reheats very well! Delicious the 2nd time)

Serves 4