Greek Fisherman’s Stew
- Total Time
- 45 minutes
- Rating
- Notes
- Read community notes
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Ingredients
Yield:6 servings
- 3tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
- 1medium onion, diced
- 6cloves garlic, sliced thin
- 1small head fennel, diced
- ¼teaspoon red chile flakes, or to taste
- 2large beefsteak tomatoes, cored and chopped, with their juices
- 1teaspoon sea salt, or to taste
- 1cup dry white wine
- ½pound Yukon Gold potatoes, peeled and diced
- Ground black pepper
- 1tablespoon lemon juice
- 2pounds wild striped bass fillets, skinned, cut in 12 pieces
- 6basil leaves, torn
- 1cup mayonnaise seasoned with 1½ teaspoons sriracha or other hot sauce (optional)
Ingredient Substitution Guide
Nutritional analysis per serving (6 servings)
304 calories; 11 grams fat; 2 grams saturated fat; 0 grams trans fat; 6 grams monounsaturated fat; 2 grams polyunsaturated fat; 16 grams carbohydrates; 3 grams dietary fiber; 5 grams sugars; 29 grams protein; 1142 milligrams sodium
Note: The information shown is Edamam’s estimate based on available ingredients and preparation. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.
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- Step 1
Warm oil in a 4-quart saucepan or casserole over medium heat. Stir in onion and garlic and cook until soft but not brown. Add fennel and cook a few minutes, until softened. Stir in chile flakes. Add tomatoes and salt, cover and cook on medium about 10 minutes.
- Step 2
Stir in wine and 2½ cups water, bring to a simmer, add potatoes and cook another 6 minutes or so, until potatoes are tender. Check seasonings, adding salt and pepper to taste. Add lemon juice.
- Step 3
Season fish pieces with salt and pepper, place them in the stew and simmer on low, covered, until fish is just cooked through, about 5 minutes. Meanwhile, warm 6 generous soup plates.
- Step 4
When fish is done, remove it to the warm soup plates. Remove pot from heat, stir in basil, just to wilt it, and divide soup among the 6 plates. Serve spiced mayonnaise alongside if desired.
Private Notes
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Cooking Notes
Elinor
Fabulous--my favorite fish dish now. Three suggestions: potatoes need much more cooking time. Add at an earlier step. Next time I'm slicing the fennel rather than chopping it to distinguish it from the chopped onion and to announce itself. I added saffron, which was a great earlier suggestion. Oh, and cod worked great.
Kevin Osinski
Excellent. Used black cod as striped bass was unavailable. Paired beautifully with an Austrian Riesling, as suggested. Simmered the potatoes for more like 30 minutes rather than 6 to get them to the right texture before adding the fish. Next time I might double the potatoes -- they seemed disproportionately scarce.
Yoko
This was really delicious! A perfect dish for a relaxed summer dinner since it doesn't require turning on the oven. Added bonus is that the broth can be prepared in advance and the fish added just a few minutes in advance. Great to prepare for dinner guests since it allows you to spend more time with them, and less in the kitchen!
I think the recipe would work well with any firm white-fleshed fish.
Karen
This was totally amazing. Couldn't get anything better in the Greek isles or south of France. Thank you to everyone who made wonderful suggestions. Here's what I incorporated: sliced the fennel, added saffron, doubled the potatoes. I made the base ahead of time so the flavors could meld, and I'd encourage that. I used pollock from Cape Cod and it was perfect (and not that expensive!). Was the mayo aioli worth it? The jury's out on that one. A keeper for sure.
Josephine
I used cod instead of bass. Also added bay scallops and a small can of chopped clams with juice.
David
Three suggestions: potatoes need much more cooking time. Add at an earlier step. Next time I'm slicing the fennel rather than chopping it to distinguish it from the chopped onion and to announce itself. I added saffron, which was a great earlier suggestion. Oh, and cod worked great. Simmered the potatoes for more like 30 minutes rather than 6 to get them to the right texture before adding the fish.
Alessandra
I used cod, which doesn't need to be cut into pieces as it will flake nicely once cooked through.
Lisa London
I made this yesterday and we realized that the more we ate it, the more we enjoyed it. It's very subtle & really needs the sriracha mayo, or a rouille, to give it interest. The addition of saffron is a great idea. I too found that the Yukon Golds need more time to become tender. Used a variety of fish chunks...cod, sole, tilapia, bass. And I think that in the future I'd use good canned tomatoes and their juice instead of beefsteaks.
Dede Bacro
I used cod and it was delicious... but I was cooking for three... with the recipe for six... needed way more fennel, tomato, almost everything... and even if you make the potatoes in small dice, it still takes way more time to cook them... plus they don't count the prep time... come on NY Tumes.... start giving us more accurate recipes... I am tired of relying on the notes all the time...
Sondi
@Jane, I made a similar soup from NYTimes (Mediterranean Fish Stew w/ Kale) using butterfish, also known as black cod or sablefish. I've never looked back since. If you can find it at your local market, I'd very highly recommend it!
bjd
We also used black cod and a pretty nice Bordeaux blanc with some sweetness and what a great hit. We'll do this recipe a lot. We didn't eat it all and stored the fish and soup separately. The soup gets even better after a day--great leftover.
Mary
I made this last night for my husband and son; everyone had seconds.
Like Yoko, I cooked everything up to the point of adding the fish, which I did when we were ready to eat.
Super easy and delicious. Next time I might increase the lemon juice and basil leave, might even add a bit of saffron (will that make it a Spanish fisherman's soup?).
Elaine
Easy and quick, but would be greatly improved by using a fish stock instead of water.
ferguson
I used frozen cod and cut it in to spoon-size chunks. I doubled the potatoes. I made half the mayo topping. Very good.
Carey
I would substitute fish stock and increase the lemon juice slightly to compensate for the lost acidity of the wine.
Bep
Liquid is just water
Mary
I like that the recipes calls for water. I don’t (yet) make fish stock and the water allowed me to try the recipe. I used sea bass and loved the flavor. I left the scrubbed skins on the potato cubes. Loved this and can’t wait to make it for my favorite guests. I will try freezing the leftovers. Thanks for that tip.
Gail Wood
I had not planned to make this soup so had to make do with what I had on hand. Ono and whole shrimp in their shells for the fish, fennel seeds and saffron instead of fresh fennel and a container of mild fresh salsa to replace the tomatoes. I used the shrimp shells and heads to make a quick fish broth with the called for water and some clam juice. Otherwise, I followed the instructions and it was fantastic. I'll be making the stew again soon, using fresh fennel, tomatoes and local fish.
sol
Cooked potatoes 3x as long as directed. Since I did not have stock, added bay leaf, smoked paprika, white pepper, and crushed fennel seeds to water. Added extra lemon and turned out delicious!
Don Moulds Sacramento
This is a great recipe BUT the potatoes take forever to cook, so plan accordingly. Put them in when sautéing fennel, etc. and plan on a lot more time before throwing in the fish. Also make with home made aioli w/siracha, rather than store bought.
fabio
Used sword fish and was ok
Sherry
This chowder is phenomenal!!!! I always add saffron but otherwise make it exactly as the recipe and it is always perfect. Everyone raves about. You cannot go wrong and it is so easy to prepare.
LKL2024
Used a soffrito mix for the base and substituted roasted butternut squash for fennel (not to my husband’s taste) and a teaspoon and a half of tamarind paste mixed with a cup of water instead of wine to create an alcohol- free version. Lovely recipe.
Varkias
Really great, my whole family loves it, but as many have noted in step 2 the time for the potatoes to cook should read “60” ish minutes not “6”. Def need 30-60 minutes to get them cooked though in my experience having made this 4-5 times now.
CaliRalf
This was delicious and definitely benefited from the saffron someone suggested. Also - thanks to whoever suggested using fresh cod. It was perfect!
HeBeCb
Really delicious! We felt that the broth was a bit watery as we were cooking it, so we added a bit of chile de arbol, a couple shakes of oregano, 2 or 3 shakes of cinnamon (may sound strange but was delicious), and a smidge of paprika. Based on other notes, we were concerned about cook time for the potatoes, so we added them just before the tomatoes and they were perfect. Did not do the mayo, but served with a drizzle of olive oil and some fresh parsley and cilantro sprinkled on top. Huge hit!
bb
Used cod instead of sea bass - simmered the cod skin in the soup to capture its flavour. Also cocked the soup base the day before to let the flavours settle. Added lemon zest with a small squeeze of lemon to the individual bowls with basil before adding hot soup. All in all, what a treat!!!
Rommy
There is no world in which you cook potatoes for 6 minutes and they become tender
Linde
After reading others'notes, I realized this is one of those wonderful recipes that responds well to variations. I didn't have fennel on hand so used bell peppers. I replaced turkey stock for some of the water. I also added a splash of cream, which was delicious. Next time, I will also add saffron. To the mayonnaise, I added not only Sriracha but also pimenton, a small clove of garlic and a squeeze of lime juice. Yum.
Susanne
works very well with parsnip instead of fennel and dill instead of basil. For some kind of fennel taste I added fennel seeds.
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