THE FOOD DISCIPLE

Hello Everyone!

CATFISH!! Ahh my favorite kind of fish ❤ This stew is definitely one of my favorite meals to prepare. I enjoy this with white Basmati or Jasmine rice on a nice Sunday morning. If you are Nigerian, you know rice is a must on Sundays and it is not every time you eat fried rice or Jollof, sometimes switch it up and have rice and stew.  For the non- Nigerians, this is a tomato based stew prepared the Nigerian way with catfish. It is light because it is not heavily seasoned as the other kinds of stew (chicken, turkey, beef etc) . This stew is prepared without curry, thyme or nutmeg, and this is what I love about this besides the fish😀 It is simple, light and just simply deeeelicious. You do not have to be African or Nigerian to try this recipe, be bold and increase your food palate.   

Now let’s get to it.

Enjoy!

Catfish Stew (Tomato Sauce)

August 25, 2017

Servings: 4

Prep: 30 min

Cook: 1 hr

Total: 1 hr 30 min

Difficulty: Medium

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By: admin

Ingredients

• 2 Catfish (cleaned and cut into 3 pieces per fish)
• 1 Can of Whole Tomatoes
• 4 Red Bell Peppers/ Red Sheppard Pepper
• 1 Large Red Onion
• 2-3 Garlic Cloves
• 3-4 Scotch Bonnet Pepper ( 2 for less heat)
• ½ cup of Vegetable oil/ Palm oil
• 3- 4 Seasoning Cubes
• Salt

Directions

• Step 1 To clean catfish, place in a bowl and wash with cold water twice. Add boiled hot water and add to catfish and salt. Allow to sit for about 3-5 minutes, this will remove the slimy skin from the fish. Rinse again with cold water and set aside.
• Step 2 Place catfish in a pot, add 2 cups of water, finely diced onion, salt and 1 seasoning cube. Cover and allow to steam on medium low heat for 6-10 minutes. Catfish is very delicate, do not overcook because it will also cook in the sauce. Remove fish from stock and reserve stock for stew. Add salt according to preference.
• Step 3 To make stew, blend into a puree all ingredients except vegetable oil, seasoning cubes and salt. Blend half of the onion and chop the other half and set aside. Place in a pot and cook until all the liquid evaporates. Set pepper mixture aside.
• Step 4 In a saucepan, add cooking oil on medium heat, add chopped onion when hot and saute until soft. Add your pepper mixture and saute for 10-15 minutes or until your oil starts separating from the pepper mixture. Stir occasionally so it does not stick to the bottom of the pot.
• Step 5 Add your fish stock, 2 seasoning cubes and salt. Stir, cover and cook for 8-10 minutes. Adjust seasoning with salt or seasoning cubes before adding your fish. Reduce heat to medium low, gently add fish to the stew, cover and let simmer for 5-8 minutes. At this point do not stir with your spoon because catfish gets very soft and it can break easily. Hold your pot with both handles and shake, tilt from side to side, this is the safest way to stir the sauce without breaking (my mum taught me this 😀). Uncover pot and allow to simmer for an additional 3-5 minutes. Now everyone knows that Nigerian stew is ready when the oil settles on the top.Turn off heat and allow to cool before serving.
• Step 6 Your stew is ready!! Stew is mostly enjoyed with rice but you can serve with any carb of your choice.

Hello Everyone!

I hope you are having a great week. Today’s recipe is my delicious, well seasoned grilled red snapper fish. Red Snapper is one of my favorite fish and it was a no-brainer when I wanted to cook something nice for my mum. She has been visiting for a few weeks now and I have not had the chance to treat her to something nice. This was paired with a delicious plate of Vegetable fried rice (Indian style) which I will share soon on the blog. I had a little Indian flavor going on with the seasoning and it was a match made in heaven; just perfect I promise you. I added some shrimp to the mix because I lovvveee seafood and I could not just have fish on my plate alone and adding shrimps to the mix just took the dish to another level. I used the same marinade for the fish to marinate my shrimp. Preparation is very easy to follow and the ingredients are easily sourced and very affordable. You can have a luxury meal in your own home without having to break your bank.

Now let’s get to it.

Enjoy!

Grilled Red Snapper

July 22, 2017

Servings: 2

Prep: 15 min

Cook: 4 hr 15 min

Total: 4 hr 30 min

Difficulty: Medium

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By: admin

Ingredients

• 2 Whole Red Snapper Fish (cleaned and fish head removed)
• 5-6 tbsp of Olive Oil
• 2 tbsp of Butter
• 2 tbsp of Lime Juice
• 1 tbsp of Chili Flakes
• 1 tbsp of White Pepper
• ⅓ tsp of Cameroon Pepper (optional)
• 1 tbsp of Thyme Leaves
• 1 tbsp of Cumin
• 1 tsp of Ground Ginger
• 1 tbsp of Ground Garlic
• 1 tbsp of Granulated Onion
• Salt

Directions

• Step 1 Clean fish and pat dry with paper towel.
• Step 2 Mix all ingredients except butter in a small bowl to create marinade. Add salt according to preference.
• Step 3 Place fish in a zip lock bag or a bowl, apply marinade and properly coat fish. Tightly seal zip lock bag making sure there is no air in bag. If using a bowl tightly seal with a plastic wrap. Place in fridge and marinate for at least 4 hours or overnight.
• Step 4 Place grill pan on medium heat. When hot, using a brush lightly grease grill pan with butter and 1 tbsp of olive oil.
• Step 5 Place fish on grill on both sides for 5-6 mins each. Do not turn fish for about 5 mins so the fish does not stick to the pan. Use kitchen tongs or spatula to flip the fish. Cooking should take about 12 to 15 mins. Carefully turn fish so it does not pull apart as the fish is very delicate. Cook until fish is charred and well done.