Light Catfish Summer Stew
Tomatoes, jalapenos, okra and catfish are abundant in Texas. Combine these for a delicious light summer stew, throw in a bit of corn, onion and spices and you have light summer meal. Because corn requires high water consumption we don’t grow a lot in Texas but all the other ingredients come straight from the garden.
Of course, I love bacon laden catfish stew, well, you know the problem there! This light soup skips the bacon.
But what ever are you going to do with all that okra and those tomatoes popping out every day? This stew is enhanced by two additions of fresh tomatoes, one pound to flavor the soup and a second pound toward the end to retain their delicious flavors.
1 large Vidalia onion diced
4 to 6 jalapenos
4 Beefsteak tomatoes
20 to 30 stalks of sliced okra
16 ounces frozen corn
1T garlic powder
1T Hungarian paprika
1 bay leaf
Parsley or cilantro for garnish
Dice two tomatoes and your Vidalia onion. Put all this in a soup pot with one pound of diced catfish and spices. Add three to four cups of water, okra and corn. Bring just under a boil for 35 to 40 minutes.
After 40 minutes add the remainder of the catfish, cook for another 10 to 15 minutes, until done but still firm and flakey. Add remainder of tomatoes basically just to heat them up and garnish with parsley or cilantro.
Add a spoonful of Jasmine rice to the soup bowl or throw in some diced carrots toward the end of cooking. It all works.
Serve with Sun Tea and lemon and a big green salad. You may want to lemon garnish the soup as well.