Probably the most forgiving dish you can make if you want robust flavor, easy cooking and low carb or keto adaptable is a Mexican Fish Stew (aka Sopa de Pescado). This light fish stew is one of those dishes that combines great flavor with healthy ingredients and is a snap to get on the table. I used scallops and an variety of white fish in this fish stew or fish chowder and spiced it up with some smoky chile peppers and a few vegetables.
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Type of Fish to Use in a Mexican Fish Stew
I live in Minnesota and happen to have a friend that does a lot of ice fishing, so it was easy to get my hands on some fresh white fish this month (February). I added some frozen cod, some small scallops and some frozen mussels to the fresh fish and the result was a mixtures of textures and tastes that made it feel like fancy restaurant food.
You can also change it up by the type of spice you use. Since this was a Mexican stew or soup, I went with a smoky mix of pasilla, ancho and chipotles.
The cilantro and lemon brightened it up considerably and the result was a complex, robust stew with smoky notes as well as bright fresh notes.
By the way, the bread you see with the fish stew was Ezekiel bread. No bread is really keto, but Ezekiel bread is low carb and the healthiest one around in my opinion.
For another delicious Mexican fish dinner (my favorite actually), click here for Mexican Fish Veracruz
Recipe for Mexican Fish Stew (Sopa de Pescado)
Mexican Fish Stew
Equipment
Ingredients
- 2 Tbsp olive oil
- 1 med onion chopped
- 1 large carrot sliced thinly
- 3 med celery stalks sliced thinly
- 3-6 cloves garlic smashed or minced
- 1 tsp smoky pepper blend
- 1/2 tsp dried thyme
- 1 cup white wine
- 4 cups chicken broth
- 1/2 cup chopped cilantro
- 2 14 oz cans Rotel diced tomatoes
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 3 leaves bay
- 6 oz scallops
- 7 oz walleye, coarsely chopped
- 1 lb mussels
- 3 oz white fish, coarsely chopped
- 2 med limes, cut into wedges optional
- 1 med lemon ,sliced for garnish
Instructions
- Heat oil over med-high heat in a dutch oven or large pot. Saute onion, carrot and celery in oil for 3-5 minutes until translucent. Add smashed garlic and cook for 1 more minute
- Add spices and stir in to the onion mixture to coat. Add wine, broth, cilantro, and tomatoes to pot and simmer together for 15-20 minutes over medium heat. Add salt to taste.
- Add all fish to the pot and cook, covered for about 5 minutes or until mussels open and white fish is opaque.
- Add sliced lemons to the pot and serve. Optional: serve with lime wedges that people can squeeze into the soup.
Nutrition
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John Dvoracek
Tuesday 27th of July 2021
Near Austin, TX we are blessed with many authentic Mexican restaurants (not Tex-Mex). We were discussing where to go for Caldo de Pescado when we decided to just look for a recipe and cook a pot ourselves. This fish soup/stew turned out BETTER than any we've had in a restaurant! Slight recipe modifications included ground rainbow pepper replacing smoky pepper blend, Hunt's fire roasted diced tomatoes replacing Rotel, 10 oz halibut replacing walleye (not available) and whitefish, and small shrimp replacing mussels (uncooked not available). Two of us added a few drops of Cholula hot sauce, and we accompanied the soup with fresh flour tortillas from our grocery. We highly recommend this recipe.
dorothy stainbrook
Wednesday 28th of July 2021
I’m so happy you enjoyed the recipe John! It’s great that you were able to modify with your preferences and availability and it still turned out good. I’m going to have to try some of your modifications next time I make it!