Fast(ing) Food - Spicy African-Style Fish Stew

Day 122, Fast Day #53

Nom, fishies!

Spicy African-Style Fish Stew (Yields 4 large servings) ~252 kcal/serving
Takes 30-40 minutes

This spicy stew has 20 grams of protein, 9 grams of fiber, 39% of the DRV of calcium with no dairy, all of the vitamin A and C for your day and 950 mg of potassium.

• 1 small head of cabbage, diced (I used red) ~176 kcal
• 1 tbsp cooking oil (I didn't have palm oil, which is more traditional, so I used coconut) ~120 kcal
• 1 onion, diced (I used half a yellow onion and half a red onion) ~40 kcal
• 3 garlic cloves, minced ~12 kcal
• 1 1/2 tbsp of ginger, minced ~2 kcal
• 1 can of tomato paste (6 oz) ~150 kcal
• 1 1/2 cups of water
• 1 habañero pepper, seeds removed, minced (can substitute with a milder pepper like a serrano, jalapeño, or an Anaheim pepper) ~15 kcal
• 1 can of sardines in tomato sauce ~371 kcal (you can substitute the sardines with another oily or white fish, Using a white fish which will be less "fishy" tasting)
• 1 can of diced tomatoes, drained ~53 kcal
• 2 cups of kale, just the leaves, chopped ~66 kcal
• 1/4 tsp ground allspice ~1 kcal
• kosher salt to taste
• pepper to taste

Boil water with a couple pinches of salt in a large pot. Boil the cabbage until tender. Drain and set aside.

While the water is coming to boil/cabbage is cooking, heat the oil in a large pan or medium to large pot on medium heat. Add onions and the ginger to the pan and cook until the onions start to become translucent (a couple minutes). Add in the garlic. Cook an additional 2-3 minutes, stirring as needed to keep things from burning.

In a separate medium-sized bowl, mix the tomato paste and water together. Add that mixture and the habañero (or whatever pepper you are using) to the frying pan. I wore latex gloves while mincing the hot pepper, I highly recommend you do too. I have made the poor life decision before and not worn gloves and had burning fingers for days. Add in the diced tomatoes to the frying pan too. Cover the pan and let it cook for about 5 minutes.

Add the fish (if using a fish in tomato sauce, include the sauce), kale, and cabbage to the frying pan. Season with allspice, salt, and pepper. Cover the pan and lower the heat to keep a simmer. Cook 15-20 minutes (if using raw fish, make sure it is cooked through). Eat! It's even better the next day.