Fish Stew with Tomatoes and Garlic

This wonderfully flavorful fish stew is one of my favorite ways to incorporate fish into my diet. It's ready in 30 minutes!

Course Main Course

Cuisine Mediterranean

Prep Time 10

Cook Time 20

Total Time 30

Servings servings

Calories 332kcal

2 tablespoons olive oil
1 tablespoon garlic minced
1 tablespoon sweet paprika
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1 teaspoon coriander
½ teaspoon red pepper flakes
3 cups Pomi strained tomatoes or canned tomato sauce, no salt added
2 teaspoons Diamond Crystal kosher salt or 1 teaspoon of any other salt, including Morton kosher salt
2 cod fillets 6 ounces each, cut into 2-inch chunks
2 salmon fillets 6 ounces each, cut into 2-inch chunks
2 tablespoons parsley chopped; or cilantro

Heat the olive oil in a large, heavy saucepan over medium heat. Add the garlic and spices. Cook, stirring, for 30 seconds, until fragrant.
Whisk in the tomato sauce and kosher salt. When the mixture starts to boil, add the fish pieces, spooning the sauce on top to cover them. Bring back to a gentle boil.
Cover (use heavy-duty foil if your skillet does not come with a lid), lower the heat to medium-low, and cook until the fish is cooked through, for about 15 minutes.
Garnish with parsley and serve.

While you can make this recipe with regular canned tomato sauce, I prefer to use strained tomatoes by one of two Italian brands - Pomi or Bionature. These tomatoes are smooth, flavorful, and sweet. A domestic US tomato sauce will be more acidic.
You can use frozen fish, but not so frozen that you can't cut them into chunks. I like using partially frozen fish because it makes cutting them easier. So, I defrost them the night before in the fridge, and by the time I'm ready to use them, they're just a bit frozen. Remember that after adding frozen fish, the stew will take slightly longer to return to a boil.
You can keep the leftovers in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 3 days. Reheat them gently, covered (to prevent splatters), in the microwave at 50% power.