Skip to main content

dinner : portuguese-ish fish stew


Our usual M.O. for dinner preparations is to decide on the food first, and then pick a wine to match.  But once in a while, we like to mix things up and go the other way.  Vinho Verde is one of my very favorite wines, and we buy it quite frequently, but we often drink it with whatever food we're having - because it goes with so many things.  As a result, we sometimes miss out on its full potential as a food wine.

But tonight I decided to bring the food to the wine and prepare a hearty Portuguese-style fish stew.  I'm careful to say style because people get all huffy when you suggest that your particular version of an ethnic dish hovers in the vicinity of what is truly authentic, whatever that is.  That said, here's my recipe.  I don't like to specify measurements because I rarely measure, so let your taste and judgement guide you.

Sautee some minced garlic, diced red onion and diced fennel in olive oil. Add some fresh thyme, red pepper flakes, diced chorizo, bite-sized cubes of sweet potato and white potato and equal parts clam juice and water.  Bring to a boil then reduce to a simmer, cover and cook until potatoes are just tender.  Then add bite-sized chunks of fish (I used basa, but any mild,white-fleshed fish is fine) and a few large handfuls of baby kale.  Stir gently to get the fish and greens down under the vegetables. Cover and cook until the fish is done and the baby kale is wilted.  Serve with bread, for soaking up the juice, and of course a nice glass of Vinho Verde.*

*our selection tonight was Gazela Vinho Verde, which usually runs between $6 and $10 a bottle.
Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

The Phantom Debt

A couple of months ago, with the help and support of someone very dear to me, I became, for the first time in about 10 years, entirely debt-free. Of course, there should be high-fives and abundant celebratory toasts at this momentous occasion. But instead of being at peace, and revelling in my new found financial freedom, I seem to have become downright terrified of spending money. I can only compare this to the phenomenon that many amputees claim to have experienced, a sensation that the missing limb is actually still there! I still feel the weight of the appendage that I carried for over a decade. In fact, I've found myself checking my credit-card balance several times a week, each time believing that my burden would suddenly re-appear, and each time finding the balance at zero, and each time being strangely disappointed that there was no balance due. And I've taken to wringing my hands in anxiety over the 'extra' money in my bank account at the end of the month. Was
6 comments
Read more

They say ignorance is bliss.

And it WAS, for a while, but sooner or later, reality was bound smack me in the head (or a more southerly body part, in this case). The results of my follow-up exam are abnormal. So, in three weeks, I must submit to a colposcopy. For those who want extensive, clinical details about this procedure, click here . For those who do not, let's just say the doctor's going to poke around in my hoo-hah for a few minutes to see what the hell is going on down there. It's NOT cancer, they told me, but they need to see if it's anything of concern. So I'm just gonna chill, and put this out of my mind until the time comes. Yeah, right!
6 comments
Read more