Spicy Creole-style fish stew recipe

Creole cuisine uses lots of firey chillies which are often too hot for most of us. This recipe uses Tabasco sauce so add as much or as little as your taste buds can take. Serve this soupy stew with crusty bread to mop up the sauce.

Ingredients

• 3tbsp olive oil
• 1 large onion, chopped
• 3 garlic cloves, crushed
• 1 stick celery, chopped
• 1 large red pepper, deseeded and chopped
• 2 x 400g cans chopped tomatoes
• 1 bay leaf
• 150ml dry sherry
• 1tbsp Worcestershire sauce
• Tabasco sauce to taste
• Salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 450g prepared pumpkin or squash, cut into chunky pieces
• 450g skinless chunky white fish fillets, cubed
• Juice of 1 lime
• Freshly chopped parsley and sliced red chilli to serve

Method

1. Heat the oil in a large saucepan and gently fry the onion, garlic, celery and pepper for 5 mins to soften but not brown.
2. Add the tomatoes, bay leaf, sherry and Worcestershire sauce, Tabasco sauce to taste, and plenty of seasoning. Stir in the pumpkin, bring to the boil, cover and simmer for 20 mins.
3. Stir in the fish, re-cover and continue to cook for a further 15 mins until tender and cooked through. Discard the bay leaf and stir in the lime juice. Adjust seasoning if necessary.
4. To serve, ladle into warm serving bowls and serve immediately sprinkled with parsley and chilli.