1/4tsp (1.25 ml) cayenne pepper or 2.5 ml (1/2 tsp) crushed chillies
1 1/2 tbsp (22.5 ml) cornflour
Other suitable fish: grey mullet, huss, red snapper
Instructions
#This tasty casserole is a great course for the ones who loves seafood stew. If you don’t know how to make fish stew you must try this easy recipe. You may also call it a fish chowder or even a fish soup. It’s delicious accompanied by poppadums. Serve boiled rice on the side.#Make the Spicy Sauce: Bring the fish stock to a boil in a medium saucepan. Add the desiccated coconut.
Stir to mix, then cover the pan and leave the coconut to soak 30 minutes. “As the coconut soaks, the stock will become infused with its flavour, making coconut milk.”
Peel the onion, leaving a little root attached, and cut lengthwise in half. Slice each half horizontally towards the root, leaving the slices attached.
Slice each onion half vertically, again leaving the root end uncut, then cut across to make dice. “Lay each onion half flat on chopping board for dicing” “Curled fingers guide knife”
Put a large piece of muslin in the sieve, set over a bowl. Spoon in the coconut and its liquid.
Gather up the ends of the muslin and squeeze the coconut well to extract as much liquid or “milk” as possible. Discard the coconut and wipe the saucepan.
Peel the apple and core it with the apple corer. Cut the apple into halves. Cut each half horizontally into 1 cm (1/2 inch) slices, then cut lengthwise into strips. Cut across into dice. “Hold apple half together with fingers as you cut” “elt the butter in the saucepan. Add the onion and apple, and cook until soft but not brown, 3-5 minutes. Apple strips are easy to cut into dice”
Melt the butter in the saucepan. Add the onion and apple, and cook until soft but not brown, 3-5 minutes.
Add the ground cumin, coriander, ginger, cloves, and cayenne pepper to the onion and apple. Cook, stirring, over low heat, 2—3 minutes.
Put the cornflour in a small bowl. Add 30-45 ml (2-3 tbsp) of the coconut milk and blend to a smooth paste. Add remaining milk to the saucepan; bring to a boil.
Stir in the corrnflour paste; the sauce will thicken at once Stir in the corrnflour paste; the sauce will thicken at once. Take the pan from the heat and season the sauce to taste with salt and pepper. Set aside. “Ifthe cornflour forms lumps, stir vigorously to dissolve them.” “Paste of cornflour and coconut milk slightly thickens stew” “Stir sauce constantly while adding comñour paste” #Prepare the Monkfish And Vegetables#With the filleting knife, cut away the fnembrane from the monkfish With the filleting knife, cut away the fnembrane from the monkfish. Rinse the monkfish with cold water and pat dry with paper towels. “Membrane on monkfish must always be completely removed”
Cut the fillets into 2.5 cm (1 inch) strips, then across into cubes. Set aside while preparing the vegetables.
Cut the cores from the tomatoes and score an “x” on the base of each with the tip of a knife. Immerse in a pan of boiling water until the skin starts to split, 8-15 seconds depending on ripeness. Using the slotted spoon, transfer at once to cold water. When cold, peel off the skin. Cut crosswise in half and squeeze out the seeds, then coarsely chop each half.
Peel the carrots and trim them. Cut them across into thin slices using the chefs knife.
Peel the strings from the celery sticks, then cut the sticks across into thin slices Peel the strings from the celery sticks, then cut the sticks across into thin slices. “Run peeler up celery sticks to remove tough strings”
Set the flat side of the chefs knife on top of each garlic clove and strike it with your fist Discard the skin and finely chop the garlic. Peel the onions, leaving a little of the root attached, and cut them lengthwise in half. Cut each onion half across into thin slices. #Cook The Fish Stew# Heat the oil in the casserole. Add the onions and cook until soft but not brown, 3-5 minutes.
Add the paprika and cook, about 1 minute, stirring to combine evenly with the onions. “Metal spoon is preferable to wooden spoon because it does not absorb spices” “Paprika adds deep colour to fried onions”
Add the fish stock, chopped tomatoes, garlic, bay leaves, celery Add the fish stock, chopped tomatoes, garlic, bay leaves, celery, and carrots to the casserole with a little salt and pepper. Bring the mixture to a boil. “Carrot slices will keep shape and colour in stew”
Reduce the heat and simmer until the liquid is reduced by one-third, 15-20 minutes.
Add the spicy sauce to the casserole and stir well Add the spicy sauce to the casserole and stir well, then bring back to a boil.
Add the fish. Cover and simmer, stirring occasionally, until the fish flakes easily, 12-15 minutes. Discard the bay leaves and taste for seasoning. #TO SERVE#Serve the spicy fish stew in individual warmed bowls Serve the spicy fish stew in individual warmed bowls. “Crisp poppadums perfectly complement this spicy dish” “Fish stew flavoured with rich mix of spices is a delicious and warming meal”
