Fish on Friday and South Sea Islands Fish & Sweet Potato Stew with Scottish Hake

South Sea Islands Fish & Sweet Potato Stew

Fish on Friday

and

South Sea Islands Fish & Sweet Potato Stew

with Scottish Hake

I have received some more wonderful fresh fish from Delish Fish. Delish Fish offers and amazing “shore to door” fish delivery service and in my recent pack of fresh fish I received some wild Scottish hake fillets. I am a big fan of hake and with dwindling stocks of cod and strict fishing quotas in place, hake makes a great alternative for any recipe that calls for a firm white fish. Hake is a member of the cod family, and here are some more facts from the Marine Stewardship Council website:

Hake are deep-sea members of the Cod family, found on the continental shelf and slope to depths over 1,000 meters.

They are a mild fish, having a more subtle flavour than cod.  Hake are considered one of the best fish in the whiting family because of its firm, sweet, white meat and medium flake. The fish has a soft, iron-grey skin and silvery belly. The flesh when raw is naturally very soft, but when cooked it becomes firm and meaty.

North East Atlantic Hake

I was tempted to cook a simple pan-fried hake dish for lunch, and then I remembered a recipe that my mum makes, a South Pacific inspired spicy fish stew: I think she she got the original recipe from a supermarket leaflet or magazine, and she adapted it slightly to suit her and my dad’s tastes. I asked her for the recipe and then proceeded to adapt it myself! I wanted a warm and lightly spiced stew where the hake would still stand up to the sauce and not be overpowered by it. I also wanted to add a few prawns to make the stew more luxurious……this stew is a one pot meal, but I love it when served with rice as well as all of the extra garnishes.

South Sea Islands Fish & Sweet Potato Stew

My lovely wild hake fillets came individually sealed in handy portions and were practically packed in a special box with a gel sachet to keep all the fish cold and fresh. They are caught in the cold waters of the North East Atlantic and are wonderful when fried, poached, roasted or when added to fish pies and stews. As you can see from my photos, the fish kept its shape when added to the stew for the last five minutes or so to cook, and all the flavours of the spices, as well as the  sweet potatoes really worked beautifully with this tasty white fish. If you are planning on serving this to the whole family including the children, then by all means omit the hot red chilli, but do try to serve the stew with the extra “sambals” of cashew nuts and flaked coconut, they really add a nice crunchy texture to the overall dish.

South Sea Islands Fish & Sweet Potato Stew

I love my fish on Fridays meals, and with receiving such a lovely box of fish, expect more fresh Scottish fish recipes on the blog over the next few weeks, well I AM a Fish Fanatic!

That’s it for today, I am back tomorrow with my Herbs on Saturday post and some more violet recipes as well as some more treats over the weekend.  See you later, Karen.

South Sea Islands Fish & Sweet Potato Stew

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Serves	4
Prep time	10 minutes
Cook time	25 minutes
Total time	35 minutes
Region	Oceanian
By author	Karen S Burns-Booth

A spicy exotic fish stew with flavours of the South Sea islands.....perfect for a warming winter supper dish or a light luncheon dish in the summer. Fresh hake and prawns are the stars of this stew whilst the subtle spices give a warm feel to this dish.

Ingredients

• 2 tbsp peanut oil
• 1 large onion, (peeled and diced)
• 2 cloves garlic (peeled and finely chopped)
• 1 inch fresh ginger root ( peeled & grated)
• 1 tsp ground turmeric
• 1/2 tsp ground cumin
• 1/2 tsp ground coriander
• 400ml tin coconut milk
• 400g tin chopped tomatoes
• 450g sweet potatoes (peeled and cut into even sized cubes)
• 450g fresh hake fillets (cut into chunks)
• 125g prawns or shrimps (peeled)
• 1 hot red chilli (very finely diced, some for stew and some for garnish)
• fresh coriander leaves (finely chopped for garnish)
• cashew nuts (for garnish)
• flaked dried coconut (for garnish)
• cooked rice to serve

Note

If you cannot obtain hake, use any other firm white fish such as haddock, cod or coley.

Directions

Step 1	Heat the peanut oil in a large saucepan and cook the onion over a low heat until soft. Add the garlic, grated ginger and chopped chilli. Continue to cook for another couple of minutes, then stir in the ground coriander, cumin and turmeric and cook for a further minute.
Step 2	Add the peeled and chopped sweet potatoes to the onion mixture and stir so they are well coated. Then add the tin of coconut milk and mix well, before adding the tinned tomatoes. Allow to cook over a medium heat for 10 to 15 minutes or until the sweet potato has cooked - it should be soft but still retaining its shape.
Step 3	Finally add the hake and prawns/shrimp and continue to cook over a gentle heat for a further 5 to 8 minutes, or until the fish has cooked. Avoid stirring the stew too much so the fish does not break up into smaller pieces. Check seasoning and add salt and black pepper to taste.
Step 4	Serve hot on a bed of cooked rice in soup bowls; then garnish with chopped red chilli, coriander leaves, cashew nuts and flaked coconut.

South Sea Islands Fish & Sweet Potato Stew

This is a Non-Sponsored Post: I was sent a selection of fresh fish with no request to promote them or review them on my blog or anywhere else.  The published opinions above  (about the fresh hake fillets) are my own and were not paid for in any shape or form. I have promoted the wonderful fresh hake fillets in this post as I think that they are a quality product that I enjoyed cooking with. Thanks to Delish Fish for sending them to me to try.  Karen Burns-Booth