STEAMED CATFISH WITH SWEET PEPPERS AND SAUSAGE   
  Ingredients :
    2 lb fresh catfish fillets
    120 g (4 oz) chorizo sausage
    6 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
    ½ cup sweet red pepper purée (see note)
    1 cup minced yellow onion
    1 teaspoon ground turmeric (fresh if possible)
    3 garlic cloves, finely chopped
    1 tablespoon chopped cilantro
    1 teaspoon minced fresh hot pepper (see note)
    ½ cup white wine
    3 cups fish stock
    Salt
    Pepper

  Preparation:

Lightly brown the catfish fillets with the sausage removed from its casing in a skillet with some of the olive oil. Season lightly with salt and pepper, remove and reserve. (Note: If using a pre-cooked sausage of similar type like a cajun andouille, omit the sausage in this step and include only when adding the fish to the sauce in the next step.)

In the same skillet add the remaining olive oil and the minced onion, the garlic, the red pepper purée and the turmeric. Cook until the onion is completely translucent. Add the white wine and reduce until all the liquid is evaporated. Add the catfish, the chorizo and the fish stock, and season to taste. Cover and simmer until the fish is cooked. Remove the fish and the sausage from the skillet and reduce the liquid about half. Taste and adjust the seasoning. Add the chopped cilantro and the fresh hot pepper. Return the fish and sausage to the skillet to reheat slightly. Serve in a deep dish accompanied with steamed yucca or plantains.

Note: Red pepper purée: the original recipe calls for aji dulce which is a small, mild pepper found in Perú, Puerto Rico, Venezuela and Brazil, where it is called Rubra or Biquinho. As an alternative, use canned, peeled pimentos and process them in a blender. Or take fresh red peppers, scortch over a flame to loosen the skin, immediately place in a plastic bag to steam and then remove the skin under running water and purée the flesh in a blender. For the minced hot pepper, the restaurant uses a very hot pepper similar to the tabasco pepper or the African Birds Eye chili pepper.

Recipe: courtesy Restaurant Malabar, Lima, Peru.
 
        4 – 6 servings
       
 
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