A Week of Cooking Light: Thursday: Spicy Cod and Fennel Stew with Cheesy CiabattaToasts

Welcome back to my week of Cooking Light!  This week has been really fun, actually.  It's so nice to already know what I'm going to be cooking all week.  It's also really fun to make brand new recipes that I've never tried before.

I found this recipe in particular to be really interesting.  It was one of THE EASIEST recipes I have ever prepared in my life.  It is so super simple and the finished product was really tasty.

So as always, I did make a few changes to the recipe.

• I used cod instead of tilapia.  They are similar fish, so it worked beautifully.  
• I did not have jarred arrabbiata sauce, so instead I used a jar of marinara sauce and added red pepper flake, because arrabbiata is basically just "spicy spaghetti sauce".  
• I added salt to this recipe.  You just have to if you want to bring out the flavor in anything.  This recipe doesn't even mention salt, and that just wouldn't work.  I didn't have to use a lot of salt, but I did add it to the fennel when I was cooking it in the oil, and I also added a few more cranks of sea salt at the end after I tasted the soup to bring out the flavors a bit more.  So for this recipe, I suggest seasoning with salt to your individual taste.  
• Instead of using cooking spray, I used olive oil.  I don't buy cooking spray.  I don't see the need for it.  I'd rather use olive oil.  Spray on food is just not my style.
• I also didn't prepare the ciabatta toasts per the recipe.  I decided to use olive oil in place of the mayonnaise.

Even though that looks like a lot of changes, they really were very minimal.  Remember, any time you follow a recipe, make sure you make that recipe work for you.  Take your individual taste into consideration and also look at what you have on hand.  If you can use something similar that will allow you to use something up or save some money, why not do that?  Recipes are never set in stone.

As for how this stew tasted... I really liked it!  I thought it was so neat that I could turn a jar of marinara sauce into a stew!  I never would have thought to do that, so I thought it was a cool idea and again, a super quick week night meal idea.  I highly suggest it.

Remember to check back tonight as I will be posting Friday's meal that I will be preparing for dinner this evening.  

Ok, so to see how I made this stew, check out this video: