Caribbean Seafood Stew
Although we don’t live near the ocean anymore, my family still loves seafood. It would be too expensive to feed them the amount they desire so I have had to come up with more budget conscious seafood dishes. I just asked my teen daughter how many nights a week she would eat seafood if she could. Her answer? “Sushi two nights, and lobster and steamers one night”. Nice pipe dream kid, though in fact, I’m right there with her. When everyone is craving seafood, Caribbean Seafood Stew is an affordable dish that everyone loves.
Since we now live about 3.5 hours from the nearest ocean, I tend to buy only frozen seafood at the grocery store because I don’t trust how long the defrosted seafood has been sitting in the case. Caribbean Seafood Stew is an easy recipe and frozen and defrosted seafood works perfectly in it. The original recipe had a white fish like haddock, flounder or cod in it as well as the shrimp. If you don”t live where good seafood is sold, I don’t see any reason why catfish wouldn’t work as well. Sometimes I have some kind of fish or bay scallops and I throw them in. I put the fish in when the shrimp goes in. Just be careful to stir gently so the chunks don’t break apart too much. Whatever seafood you decide to use, just use about 2 pounds in total.
I’ve served this over basmati, jasmine and long grained rice. I start the pot of rice before I start cooking the stew. Sugar snap peas make a good side. I buy a bag from the produce section of the market and steam them in my own microwave container. If not, frozen vegetables are easy and are my friend. The steam in the bag ones are even easier although I get less and pay more for them. Whatever makes life easier for me is the way to go right now.
Caribbean Seafood Stew
Ingredients
- 2 Tablespoons Olive or Vegetable Oil
- 1 cup Onion chopped
- 1 Red Bell Pepper cut into bite sized pieces
- 1 Tablespoon Minced Garlic (or 4 cloves minced)
- 1 Jalapeño Pepper seeded and finely chopped (optional)
- 1 14.5 oz. can diced tomatoes (*** or RO*TEL, see note below)
- 1 15 0z. can Unsweetened Coconut Milk
- 2 lbs. Uncooked Medium Shrimp peeled and deveined
- 1 Tablespoon Lime Juice
- 1/4 teaspoon Kosher Salt optional
- 1/2 cup Snipped Cilantro Leaves
- 2 cups Hot Cooked Rice (for serving)
- Bottled Hot Pepper Sauce (for serving) optional
Instructions
- In a large saute pan, heat oil over medium-high heat.
- Add the onion, bell pepper, garlic, and jalapeno. Cook and stir for about 4 minutes until the onion is translucent but not brown.
- Stir in undrained tomatoes and coconut milk. Bring to a boil, reduce heat. Simmer, uncovered, 10 minutes, stirring occasionally.
- Stir in shrimp, lime juice, salt and cilantro. Return to boiling; reduce heat. Simmer, uncovered, for 5 minutes or until shrimp turn opaque, stirring occasionally.
- Serve over hot cooked rice. Pass hot pepper sauce, if desired.
