With the weather getting colder, soups and stews are starting to make their way back onto my weekly dinner rotation. There are so many different combinations of flavours and ingredients that you could make a different soup each night of the week and never get bored. Whether you call it a soup or a stew, this rich tomato broth with tender chucks of fish and vegetables comes together quickly and makes a perfect weeknight meal.
Whenever a recipe calls for canned tomatoes I always add just a touch of sugar; this serves not only to neutralize the acidity from the tomatoes but also as a time saver to create a depth of flavour that is usually achieved by cooking tomatoes for a long period of time. The amount of sugar you will need depends on the sweetness of the tomatoes and your own personal preference. Remember the best tool in your kitchen is your sense of taste, so make sure you taste your food as you’re cooking. It can mean the difference between a delicious meal and a bland disaster!
- 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
- 1 medium onion, diced
- 3 large carrots, diced
- 2 stalks of celery, diced
- 2 cloves of garlic, minced
- ¼ cup white wine
- 1 28oz can diced tomatoes, juice included.
- ½ teaspoon red pepper flakes (or to taste).
- ½ - 1 teaspoon sugar
- 2 filets red snapper or other white fish, cut into 1 inch pieces.
- 2 cups of fresh spinach, chopped
- ¼ cup fresh parsley
- ¼ cup fresh basil or 1 teaspoon dried basil
- salt and pepper to taste
- In a large soup pot sauté onions over medium heat until they become translucent but not brown, about 5 minutes. Add the carrots, celery and garlic and sauté for another 2-3 minutes.
- Stir in the white wine and cook until most of the liquid has evaporated. Next add the diced tomatoes including liquid, red pepper flakes, and ½ teaspoon sugar. Cook for 15-20 minutes.
- Taste broth and add salt and pepper to taste, if it’s too acidic at this point you can add another ½ teaspoon sugar. I prefer my vegetables on the crunchy side but if you like your vegetables a little softer continue to cook for another 10 minutes.
- Right before you are ready to serve the stew add the fish and spinach, cook for 2-3 minutes. Stir in fresh herbs and serve immediately with a nice piece of crusty bread to soak up the tasty broth.
- You can make the tomato base ahead of time up until the point where you add the fish, then when you are ready to eat simply reheat and add the fish and spinach a few minutes before serving.
4 Comments
Another winner with the family, Kirsten! Now, I did modify slightly and I don’t think this will surprise you. As usual, I had no celery in the house. Instead I used a finely minced fresh jalapeno and skipped the pepper flakes. It probably could have been spicier but I kept it toned down for the kids. Very tasty!