Batter-Splattered: Fisherman's Stew

My cousin emailed me this recipe with a simple directive: Try this.

I did and I emailed her back the next day to give her a simple directive of my own: send me more recipes.

All you have to do to create something wonderful out of this recipe is throw the first 10 ingredients together in a pot. I couldn't believe how good it tasted at that early stage. It was all I could do to stop myself from eating big spoonfuls of it straight from the pot. The white wine and the tomatoes and shallots all come together wonderously.

My cousin says that although the fish can make this stew a bit expensive, it's easy and fast and yummy. It's pretty versatile. She used orange roughy. I used halibut. We both used shrimp instead of mussels. Neither of us had fresh parsley so we skipped the 'sprinkle with' step at the end.

None of the photos I took were quite right because of our lack of daylight (so I'll throw in a photo of an old stepstool -- my cousin and I both have one) so you'll just have to trust me when we say:

Try this.

Fisherman's Stew

Serves three if it is your only dish, about five if it is just a little cuppa.

2 T olive oil

1/2 c minced shallots

1/2 c finely chopped red bell pepper

3/4 c dry white wine

1/2 t salt

1/2 t dried basil

1/2 t black pepper

2 cloves garlic, minced

1 14.5 oz can diced tomatoes, undrained

1 bay leaf

1 lb grouper or other firm whitefish cut into 5 pieces

1.5 lbs. mussels (scrubbed and debearded) or 1/2 lb shrimp (peeled and cleaned)

2 T chopped fresh parsley

Heat oil in a large dutch oven over medium heat. Add shallots and bell pepper. Cook for 5 minutes. Add wine and next 6 ingredients. Bring to a boil and then reduce heat. Simmer for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally.

Nestle the fish into the tomato mixture then top with mussels, or if you're using shrimp, nestle them in with the fish. Cover and cook for 8 minutes. Shake the pan twice to stir but do not uncover the pot until after the 8 minute mark passes.

Check that the fish flakes easily -- cook a little longer if you need to. I did. Discard any unopened mussels. Discard bay leaf. Serve with a sprinkle of parsley.