NOTE:
(1) With soap and water, wash sink, hands and every object that has come into contact with raw fish, to avoid cross-contamination with salmonella or other food-borne bacteria.
(2) Adjust ingredients according to number and size of fish portions and your taste preference—using fewer or different herbs and spices or using bigger or smaller amounts of them to produce stronger, spicier or blander flavors.
(3) This fish dish keeps well for up to a week in the refrigerator and tastes just as good reheated as when freshly cooked.
- 2 – 4 slices of fish, rinsed well under cold running water.
- 1 pound or more of assorted, fresh, seasonal vegetables—including one tomato and, most important, a medium-size fresh fennel bulb with its dill stalks attached —all sliced or chopped into bite-size pieces. Peppers, zucchini, carrots, celery, kale or other dark green leaf plant are all excellent additions to this dish.
- A handful of your preferred kind of dried seaweed
- 1 cup of coarsely chopped onion
- 4 cloves of finely chopped garlic
- 1 cup of olive oil
- 2 tablespoons crystallized ginger
- ¼ cup fresh squeezed lemon juice
- ½ teaspoon dry basil (or 4 – 5 fresh basil leaves)
- ½ teaspoon dry parsley (or ½ cup fresh parsley)
- ¼ teaspoon turmeric
- ½ teaspoon sweet red paprika
- ½ teaspoon thyme
- A dash of cayenne
- 1 tablespoon Worcestershire or soy sauce (optional)
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• Pour olive oil into skillet or pot wide enough for ingredients without crowding.
• Place on low heat burner on stove-top and warm oil just a bit before
• adding chopped onions and sautéing it until glassy.
• Add minced garlic and sauté for a few seconds—keep stirring as you
• add chopped tomato, sauté until its juice begins to flow.
• Add hard vegetables first, cook for 3-5 minutes—add vegetable broth or warmed spring water slowly as needed—keep adding the rest of the vegetables, the softest last, stirring and adding liquids to prevent burning.
• Cover pot, lower heat and let simmer for 5 minutes.
• Place fish slices on top of veggies without crowding them.
• Pour lemon and Worcestershire sauces on top of fish.
• In a small bowl, mix all dry herbs and spices and spoon over fish & veggies.
• Add water—enough to cover veggies—then ladle juices over fish slices.
• Cover the pot and simmer ingredients—basting with the juices from time to time—until fish is cooked and veggies are al dente.
• If you plan to serve this stovetop fish and vegetable “stew” with rice, mashed potatoes or pasta, make sure to add broth or water during cooking to have plenty of sauce.