• 20 ounces cherry tomatoes

• 1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil

• 2 tablespoons neutral oil

• 3 garlic cloves, minced

• 1 medium yellow onion, finely diced

• 1 bell pepper, finely diced

• 1 tablespoon paprika

• 2 teaspoons red pepper flakes

• 2 tablespoons tomato paste

• 3 large ribs of celery, roughly chopped

• 3 medium carrots, peeled and roughly chopped

• 1 (15 ounce) can of white beans, drained & rinsed

• 4 cups stock

• 1 - 1.5 pounds of cod, cut into 1-inch pieces

• 1/2 cup parsley, chopped

• kosher salt, to taste

• black pepper, to taste
  

1. Pre-heat oven to 425 and add tomatoes to a baking dish, cover with olive oil and season with salt and pepper. Roast for 25 minutes until soft and releasing juice.

2. Five minutes before the tomatoes are due out of the oven add neutral oil to a stockpot on medium-low. Add the garlic, bell pepper, and onion to the stockpot and cook them down until very soft, caramelized, and halved in size. About 10 minutes.

3. Add the paprika, red pepper flakes, and tomato paste to the stockpot and let that cook down for another two minutes. Add in the chopped carrots, celery, beans, stock, & roasted tomatoes. Bring the soup to a boil and then back down to a simmer for 20-25 minutes until the carrots and celery are fork-tender.
   Taste the soup! Adjust for salt and spice levels before you add in the fish.

4. Right before serving add the cod to the pot and let it cook on a light simmer for about 3 minutes until flaky. Serve immediately to avoid overcooking the fish.

This stew’s origins start on a chilly fall day in Maine, the kind of day where you must have something hot and hearty so your bones don’t get too cold. The tomatoes are roasted to dramatically amplify their flavor and give a strong identity to the stew. I love using roasted tomatoes as a general base-builder for meals because it doesn’t rely on tomatoes being in season to get that deliciously sweet and acidic tomato flavor. Now, when you’re on the coast of Maine good seafood is plentiful so it was a natural fit to bring cod to the party, but doing it every so gently right before serving to ensure the fish is perfectly flaky without room for overcooking. Cod is a great companion in the stew because it’s cooked so quickly, you need a super flavorful broth to impart flavor onto the mild fish. I like to eat this with bowl of rice or a side of thick sourdough toast for dipping.