This fish stew is very “Down East,” or South Outer Banks, meaning a bit spicy and tomato based. Float a poached or sunny-side up egg on each serving and it becomes a “Muddle.” I serve this recipe for Super Bowl parties because it holds well in a Crock-Pot and folks just love the change of pace from wings and chili. It’s also a helpful recipe to have for all the big family functions around the holidays. Any flat or small fish fillets will work, and with a little adjustment, NC Bay scallops during their season in December can be used. Add half the fish and at the very last 5 minutes of cooking stir in the scallops.

Serves 8 to 12

8 ounces bacon, diced, use farmer raised bacon if possible
1 cup chopped onions
5 cups water
3 pounds NC wild-caught flounder fillets, or NC farmed catfish
or tilapia
2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
1 tablespoon celery salt
1 teaspoon hot sauce
Freshly ground black pepper
2 cups organic or fire-roasted ketchup
One 8-ounce can tomato paste
4 to 6 cups cooked rice

Fry the bacon until crisp in a medium skillet. Remove it from the pan and drain on paper towels. Add the onions to the bacon drippings and cook until they are lightly brown. Reserve. In a large soup pot, bring the water to a boil. Stir in the onions, drippings, bacon, fish, Worcestershire, celery salt, hot sauce, and pepper to taste. Reduce the heat to a simmer. Cook until the fish begins to fall apart, about 10 minutes. Stir in the ketchup and tomato paste. Simmer the stew for 2 hours, or until thickened.

Serve it over rice.

Note for a more soup-like result, cut the simmer to 1 hour.

Adapted from The Big Book of Fish and Shellfish by Fred Thompson