Cajun Fish Stew and You Have To See This Puffer Fish!

I could have called this stew a great many different names it actually is a recipe that I tweaked that was passed on to my by some dear friends of ours but the thing is I wanted the title to really accurately describe this stew.  This stew definitely has a little kick so I wanted you to be prepared for that Cajun spiciness!  This time of year when Coastal North Carolina gets a little bit chilly there is nothing like having some stew and crackers for lunch or for a nice family dinner.  This recipe makes a huge amount of stew so you need to have friends over or you need to be prepared to share some and we pressured can some too because this was so delicious we really thought it would be nice to have some later too and as we know freezing is a great way of preserving but when your power goes out it is nice to have some delicious fresh food in the pantry all preserved and ready to eat.

As many of my recipes do this one not only involved a recipe from a friend that she gave me over five years ago it also involved my brothers brother in law who picked me up some creole seasoning shipped via my brother and little did he know I had some amazing plans for this creole spice he sent me.  He is very well traveled and a foodie and when he shared how amazing this spice was and offered to send me some well that was an offer I just could not pass up 😉

My husband “The Viking In My Life” and my son go fishing a lot and sometimes I go with them so our freezer is often stocked with Pompano, Blue Fish, Virgina Mullet, and even Puffer Fish (not the poisonous kind) and they are delicious!   Here is a video of a puffer fish that I took on the pier if you have never seen one.

So here’s The Recipe that I have renamed “Frugal Fish Stew” because not only is it super easy to make….ha ha I say that but I did not filet the fish ;)…but if you are an avid fisherman/woman and you always have fish on hand and if you are like us and have plenty of peppers and onions in the freezer this recipe is relatively inexpensive to make.  I love using a recipe where I have lots of the items already on hand and you know we always have eggs!

Before you do anything go find your hugest pot!  I use one of those big stainless steel ones!

And start frying up that bacon and chopping your onions!

The creole seasoning adds just the right amount of kick!

Such a great way to add in some dehydrated corn and it really makes a nice difference!

The fish below is waiting to be filleted  You can see you can use quite a variety of fish!

Frugal Fish Stew

• 105 oz. canned tomato sauce (can be found at Sam’s or Costco)
• 2 Quarts of home canned tomatoes
• 2 to 3 lbs. of white fish we used pompano, puffer fish, a small amount of blue fish, and Virginia Mullet.  However the recipe calls for any white fish and it was mentioned Tilapia works well (Do Not Put Fish In Until About 20 Minutes Before It Is Done)
• 6 to 12 eggs
• 10 10 oz. cans of water
• 2 cups of diced assorted sweet peppers diced and chopped in food processor
• 2 medium onions diced and chopped in food processor you want them to be very fine!
• 1 cup of dehydrated corn (you can add more or less to your taste)
• 1 bag of frozen cubed hash brown potatoes or you can chop up 2 to 3 large potatoes
• 1 lb. of bacon – Bacon goes good with everything 🙂
• 4 Tablespoons of Tony Chachere’s Creole Seasoning
• 1 Tablespoon Onion Powder
• 1 Tablespoon Garlic Powder
• 2 Tablespoons Old Bay Seasoning
• 3 bay leaves
• 1 Tablespoon Basil
• 1 Tablespoon Oregano
• 1 Tablespoon Black Pepper
• Mix tomatoes, water, bacon and all spices in pot and bring to boil while you are dicing onions, potatoes and peppers.
• Bring everything to a boil.
• Let boil approximately 20 minutes until potatoes are starting to soften.
• Add fish and lower temperature to a medium boil.
• Let everything cook and then crack open 1 egg at a time into the bowl and then pour each egg into the boiling soup.
• Approximate total cooking time for this recipe is about 45 minutes.

Add some salt if you think you need it at the end we didn’t need to add any!

If you would have told me that I would love a tomato fish based soup with eggs floating around it I never would have believed you but it is delicious and healthy too for the most part as the only fat in this recipe really of any significance is from the bacon and this is a huge recipe so your portion of bacon is really very small.

Let me know if you decide to try this amazing recipe and I wish you all a magical holiday season!

Fondly,

 

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