Sea Bream And Tomato Stew

Aside from the curry I've been eating pretty poorly recently. I've been so busy since I got back from India that I've barely had a moment to cook and my usual diet has suffered. Leftovers for lunch have been replaced by cornish pasties and I've been going out to eat a lot. Shockingly I have actually lost weight during this period but Suzanne told me that this wasn't necessarily a good thing as I'm not getting enough vitamins and she should know as she writes a diet and fitness blog. So to kick the week off I've decided to have some fish served with a hearty spanish-style tomato and potato stew. I bought some Sea Bream from Fishworks as I couldn't be bothered to go to the good fishmongers in Kilburn at lunch. It was expensive but that's what you get for food shopping on Marylebone High Street rather than Kilburn High street.

Sea Bream with Tomato and and Potato Stew (Serves 2)
3 tbsp olive oil
1 onion, finely chopped
2 garlic cloves, finely chopped
1 red pepper, cut into thick strips
1 tsp smoked paprika
6 tomatoes, chopped
1 bay leaf
Handful of thyme (about six sprigs)
1 large potato, cut into chunks
2 Sea Bream, gutted, scaled and fins removed

1) Pre-heat the oven to 200c. Heat 2 tbsp of olive oil in a saucepan and saute the onions for around five minutes. Then add the pepper and continue cooking until softened. Next add the garlic and cook for a few minutes or until you can no longer smell the raw garlic aroma.
2) Add the smoked paprika, stir vigorously and cook a for a few minutes. Then add the chopped tomatoes, bay leaf and leaves from two sprigs of thyme. Cook until the tomatoes have gone mushy and you have a nice thick sauce.
3) Put the sauce into a casserole dish. Then season the sea bream on both sides, stuff the cavity with the rest of the thyme, place it on top of the toamto sauce and put in the oven for 20 minutes, flipping the fish half-way through.
4) While the fish is cooking, par boil the potatoes for five minutes. Then fry them in a tablespoon of olive oil until light brown and crispy on all sides.
5) When the Bream is done remove the dish from the oven and move the fish onto a plate. Then add the potato to the sauce. Stir it around and serve with the fish.

After a week of eating pretty poor food this was just what I needed. It was healthy enough to do me good but the tomato, paprika and potato stew made for a big-flavoured, hearty autumn dish. This stew is very versatile. I had half leftover at the end so I added a tin of chick peas and will have it for lunch tomorrow.