MADDIE DAY here. I'm thrilled that A Poisonous Pour releases in just 18 days. Protagonist and wine bar owner Cece Barton is a pescatarian - a vegetarian who also eats fish. The books don't include recipes, but when I came across this recipe for a one-pot fish stew with pearl couscous, tomatoes, and black olives, I knew it was a dish Cece would love and might cook at home.
Doesn't it look pretty in my Olive Oil dish?
One Pot Fish with Tomato, Olives, and Couscous
I adapted this recipe from one by Lidey Heuck in NYT Cooking.
Ingredients
¾ cup jarred roasted red peppers, roughly chopped
1 medium yellow onion, diced
1 pound skinless skinless white fish fillet, such as cod, fluke or halibut, cut into two-inch chunks
Kosher salt and black pepper
1 ½ tablespoons minced garlic (about 3 large cloves) - not shown in photo
1 tablespoon chopped anchovies (about 4 fillets)
1 teaspoon smoked paprika
Pinch of ground cayenne
⅓ cup dry white wine
1½ cups fish or chicken stock
1 (14-ounce) can diced tomatoes
½ cup pitted Kalamata olives
2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley, plus more for serving
¾ cup pearl couscous
(2 teaspoons sherry vinegar or red wine vinegar - the recipe called for this but I didn't add it.)
Directions
In a large pot or Dutch oven, heat the olive oil over medium heat. Saute the onion, tossing occasionally, until tender and lightly browned, 8 to 10 minutes.
Add roasted red peppers with the garlic, paprika, and cayenne, and cook for 1 more minute, until the garlic is fragrant. Add the wine and stir to scrape up any brown bits from the pan.
When the wine has almost entirely evaporated, add the stock, anchovies, tomatoes, olives, parsley, 1 teaspoon salt and ½ teaspoon black pepper. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat.
Add the couscous and reduce the heat. Simmer the sauce and couscous, uncovered, stirring occasionally, until it’s tender and the liquid in the pan has reduced slightly, about 5 minutes.
Ten minutes before serving, add the fish.
Gently submerge in the sauce. Cook until fish is no longer translucent. If you use it, add two tablespoons of herbal or wine vinegar.
Serve hot in shallow bowls garnished with additional parsley and a drizzle of olive oil.
Readers: How do you like your fish? Are you all caught up on the Cece Barton books and ready for the new one? I'll send one commenter an ARC of A Poisonous Pour, which will be out on April 28!
🐠🍅🫒
Murder at Cape Costumers is out and available wherever book are sold!
We hope you'll visit Maddie and her Agatha Award-winning alter ego Edith Maxwell on our web site, sign up for our monthly newsletter, visit us on social media, and check our all our books and short stories.
Maddie Day (aka Edith Maxwell) is a talented amateur chef and holds a PhD in Linguistics from Indiana University. An Agatha Award-winning and bestselling author, she is a member of Sisters in Crime and Mystery Writers of America and also writes award-winning short crime fiction. She lives with her beau and sweet cat Martin north of Boston, where she’s currently working on her next mystery when she isn’t cooking up something delectable in the kitchen.














Not a fish fan.
ReplyDeleteKitten143 (at) Verizon (dot) com
Not everyone is.
DeleteThank you for the One-Pot Fish Dish recipe! We love anything with fish and this sounds and looks delicious.
ReplyDeleteNot entering the contest since I've been blessed to have already read this amazing book.
2clowns at arkansas dot net
Enjoy!
DeleteI really like all kinds of fish and usually just have it with some tartar sauce. I love a tuna sandwich with mayonnaise, cheese, and potato chips.
ReplyDeleteAll caught up and excited for A Poisonous Pour!
kozo8989(at)hotmail(dot)com
Thanks, Alicia!
DeleteCongrats on your upcoming release, Edith! Your One-Pot Fish Dish looks delicious and your serving bowl is lovely! I try to serve fish at least once a week so will have to give this a try.
ReplyDeleteFresh Walleye is the only fish I like
ReplyDeletedon.stewart@zoominternet.net
I am a fan of all your book series! I love fish and seafood prepared any way. I had some fresh fried cod on St. Patrick's Day that was out of this world! I like fish baked, broiled, in soup and stews, and fried - as long as it is lightly battered and not greasy!
ReplyDeleteNancy
allibrary (at) aol (dot) com
So many ways to enjoy fish - grilled is a favorite and so is pan fried. Thank you for the recipe and the chance to win your new book.
ReplyDeletemadamhawk at gmail dot com
Hi Maddie - Very pretty olive oil dish. I actually don't eat fish but my mom would like this recipe. Thank you for the chance to win. I love your books and you are one of my favorite cozy writers. aprilbluetx at yahoo dot com
ReplyDeleteI don’t eat fish
ReplyDeleteWskwared(at)yahoo(dot)com
I love fish. We have salmon at least once a week.
ReplyDeleteKit3247@aol.com
Not a fan of Anchovies. Could I substitute sardines? johnlong83@rocketmail.com
ReplyDeleteNot a fan of Anchovies. Could I substitute sardines? johnlong83@rocketmail.com
ReplyDeleteI need to add more fish to my diet. Thank you for the recipe. Deborah deborahortega229@yahoo.com
ReplyDeleteNot a fan of Anchovies. Could I substitute sardines? johnlong83@rocketmail.com
ReplyDeleteWish I could edit or delete my comments. My current one, which appears 3 times, is not formatted the way I typed it.
ReplyDeleteI eat fish and chips from time to time. I am caught up on Cece's adventures and ready for Poisonous Pour. awanstromatyahoodotcom
ReplyDeleteI just started on this series, And Yes I love fried fish with lemon juice on it, and cod with thousand island dressing on it, Penney
ReplyDeleteAlways ready for another good read.
ReplyDeleteThis sounds lovely. I'm not big on olives, so I might leave them out.
libbydodd at comcast dot net
I like my fish fried, or maybe baked. Hubby does a mean grilled salmon -- mmm good. But soup, stew, or fish tacos just don't sound appetizing to me.
ReplyDeleteI'm not yet caught up with Cece's adventures. But yea for a new book being out.
donna(dot)durnell(at)sbcglobal(dot)net
This dish looks easy and delicious. baileybounce2@att.net
ReplyDeleteLooks delicious! I love fish cooked in a variety of ways. I love fish sauteed, baked and fried. cherierj(at)yahoo(dot)com
ReplyDeleteThis looks interesting. I made a shrimp with orzo one pan dish on Easter that was a hit. Thought about trying that with a white fish, but may have to try this first. I preordered a copy of A Poisonous Pour so I'll skip the giveaway this time. Thanks for sharing both a copy of the book and the recipe though!
ReplyDeleteI love baked or grilled salmon. So good. Thank you for the recipe and for the chance to win!
ReplyDeletejarjm1980(at)gmail(dot)com