Spicy Libyan Fish Stew in Tomatoes

👨‍🍳 Method

For the Tomato sauce

1. 1
   Heat the olive oil in a wide pot over medium heat.

   ⚙ Pan-fryingStoveWide, shallow pot
2. 2
   Add the onion and fry 5 minutes, stirring now and then, until the onion is soft and translucent and starts to turn golden at the edges. If it browns too fast, lower the heat.

   ⚙ Adding to the hot fat and fryingStove

   💡Add by cooking time: what needs long (onion, carrot, meat) goes in first, and what burns fast (garlic, dry spices) goes in last, only until fragrant.
3. 3
   Add the garlic and fry about 30 seconds to 1 minute, just until fragrant. Don't let the garlic brown.

   ⚙ Adding to the hot fat and fryingStove

   💡Garlic burns quickly and turns bitter. Add it only after the onion has softened, over medium heat, and add the next ingredient as soon as it smells fragrant.
4. 4
   Add the pepper and fry about 2 minutes, stirring, until it softens.

   ⚙ Adding to the hot fat and fryingStove
5. 5
   Add the cumin, paprika, hot paprika and turmeric and stir about a minute, until fragrant.

   Stove
6. 6
   Add the cumin, paprika, hot paprika and turmeric and stir about a minute, until fragrant.

   ⚙ SimmeringStove

   💡A gentle simmer, not a boil: a hard boil dries the food out and clouds it, a slow simmer cooks it evenly.

To assemble

1. 7
   Pat the fish pieces dry with paper towels and place it in the sauce, skin side down, and spoon some of the sauce over it. Cover and cook over medium-low heat 12–15 minutes, until the fish flakes easily.

   StoveLid

   💡Pat the fish dry and don't overcook it: wet fish thins the sauce, and overcooked fish dries out and falls apart.
2. 8
   Turn off the heat and sprinkle the cilantro over the top.
3. 9
   Serve with bread.