Here’s a quick and easy-to-prepare fish stew that’s perfect for a winter evening.

First put some rice on to cook while you’re preparing the stew.

I use a cast iron pan for this, and it works very well. Heat your pan with a little vegetable oil. Chop in an onion. While the onion is cooking, chop up some fennel, a red pepper and some smoked sausage. I had some Portuguese sausage in the fridge and that works great. You don’t need a lot. Your fish is going to be the star of the show. Think of the sausage as counterpoint. Toss these ingredients in with the onions and stir it all around. I happened to have some piri-piri spices handy so I added some, along with some salt and pepper. Let it cook for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally.

You don’t have to use sausage, or you can use different sausage. Instead of the piri-piri, you could use some thyme, basil and a little cayenne. Try it different ways, depending on what you have on hand.

Add in a small can of diced tomatoes and about the same amount of stock. Don’t over-do the liquid. You’re making stew, not soup. Stir it around.

You can use whatever fish you like for this dish. Tonight I used a chunky pickerel (walleye) fillet. I like my fish cut in bigger than bite-sized pieces. Shellfish are fine as well. Once again, stir it all around.

The fish is only going to take about 5 minutes cooking in the stew. Don’t get carried away overcooking it. Serve it over a mound of rice in a bowl.

Garnish with fresh parsley. This is excellent with some crusty bread and a good ale.