South Sea Islands Fish & Sweet Potato Stew

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.