Sicilian Spicy Fish Stew
Bold flavors and unique textures are all combined together to create this amazing tasting dish. Sicilian fish stews are traditionally made by slow simmering tender white fish in a tomato base. In ours, we’ve add a bit of spicy chorizo and white kidney beans for even more flavor and texture.
I used fresh chorizo here, so make sure to remove the casing and fry the meat until it’s fully cooked (breaking up meat with spoon into small pieces). Dry-cured chorizo is already ‘cooked’, so dice the sausage (casing can stay on) and fry until lightly browned.
Cooking the tomato paste, before adding any liquids, is an important step since it helps to ‘cook out’ the raw taste of the paste. Stir continually while cooking the tomato paste so it doesn’t burn/stick, for about 1 minute.
Once you’ve added the beans, allow to cook for another few minutes until the mixture starts to thicken. Add in the fish, cover and continue simmering for a few more minutes until the fish easily flakes with a fork. Add in the remaining ingredients and serve.
Instead of white fish, you could always try calamari or shrimp.

Spicy Fish Stew
Ingredients
- 2 tsp olive oil
- ½ cup GF chorizo* diced or crumbled
- 1 onion finely diced
- ¼ tsp red pepper flakes
- 2 Tbsp tomato paste
- 4 cloves garlic minced
- 1 can 796ml diced tomatoes
- 1 can 540ml cannellini beans, drained & rinsed
- ½ tsp salt
- 350 g white fish tilapia, cod, halibut, cut into 1” cubes
- ½ cup fresh cilantro chopped
- 2 tsp red wine vinegar
Instructions
- Heat oil in skillet and fry sausage until lightly browned. Add in onion and pepper flakes, cooking until onions are softened.
- Add tomato paste and garlic, stirring for a minute, then add tomatoes. Bring to a boil then reduce and simmer until slightly thickened, about 10 minutes.
- Add beans and season to taste with salt, and cook for another 5 minutes. Add fish, cover and cook for another 3-5 minutes or until fish is cooked.
- Remove from heat and stir in cilantro and vinegar.
Notes