tilapia stew with sweet potatoes, collard greens, chick peas, and cornmeal dumplings

so apparently today is national bouillabaisse day.  i didn't know a stew could have a national day, but apprently it can.  and does.

for anyone who doesn't know, a bouillabaisse is (thanks, wikipedia!):

Bouillabaisse is a fish soup containing various kinds of cooked fish and shellfish and vegetables, flavored with a variety of herbs and spices such as garlic, orange peel, basil, bay leaf, fennel and saffron. There are at least three kinds of fish in a traditional bouillabaisse, typically scorpionfish, sea robin, and European conger, and it can also include gilt-head bream, turbot, monkfish, mullet, or silver hake.  It also usually includes shellfish and other seafood such as sea urchins, mussels, velvet crabs, spider crab or octopus. More expensive versions may add langoustine. Vegetables such as leeks, onions, tomatoes, celery and potatoes are simmered together with the broth and served with the fish.

now, depending on the recipe, bouillabaisse can get a little pricey (as it usually should contain at least three or four different kinds of seafood and shellfish -- and saffron, which i don't have), so i decided to make a fish stew.  not quite a bouillabaisse, but delicious.  and filling, healthy, nutritious, and really pretty simple and easy.

tilapia stew with sweet potatoes, collard greens, chick peas, and cornmeal dumplings

4 tilapia filets, roughly chopped into large bite-sized pieces

a few tbsp extra virgin olive oil

1 onion, diced

6 cloves garlic, smashed and minced

2 carrots, diced

1 green bell pepper, diced

2 stalks celery, diced

1 sweet potato, diced

4 leaves (approx.) collard greens, cut in a rough chiffonade

1 can chick peas, drained

1 can diced tomatoes with liquid

2-3 tbsp each of apple cider and red wine vinegar

4 c hot water

spices: paprika, freshly cracked black pepper, chili powder, ginger, cinnamon, old bay, red pepper flakes

4 dried bay leaves

3 tbsp butter, melted

cornmeal

start heating a pot to medium.  toss in all the spices to toast and bloom their flavors.  add olive oil and let it come up to temperature (when you add the onions, you want them to sizzle).

add onions, stir to coat in oil/spices.  cook a few minutes to begin to soften.  add garlic, and cook a few more minutes.  then add in the carrots, bell peppers, and celery (a little cajun "holy trinity," a little french mire poix) and let saute for a few minutes.  and, of course, salt and pepper as you go.

once the veggies being to soften, add the sweet potato and greens, stir, and continue to saute for a few minutes.

add vinegar, tomato, and water (enough to cover everything even after you add the fish and chick peas -- use your best judgment).

bring up to a boil, cover, and reduce heat to simmer for about 15 minutes.

add fish and chick peas, recover, and simmer for another 15 minutes.

during the last 15 min of cooking time, melt 3 tbsp butter.  add a few spoonfuls of cooking liquid.  add cornmeal (and s&p), stirring.  adjust with cornmeal or soup liquid until the consistency is wet but holds a form -- not a loose dough.

add dumplings into liquid, recover, and cook an additional 5-10 minutes.

serve immediately and enjoy.  i served it drizzled with a bit of olive oil and sprinkled with parmesan, although sour cream, creme fraiche, yogurt, parsley, chives... you get the idea.  garnish with what you like, or not at all.  hot, hearty, delicious, and really good for you!  i kind of wish the weather had been a little colder tonight to best-enjoy it, but i was still into it!