Hey, foodies in the hive!

We can prepare your toasts in so many ways, right? This time, I chose fish.

This is such a coherent choice for me, as I love eating fish. This time I chose bull ray because I had to stew it anyway to make bull ray pie. This is the kind of stew I can eat from the fridge, just cold as it is, and enjoy it over a piece of cassava toast or in a sandwich with a little homemade mayonnaise and fresh tomato and red onion rings, some drops of fresh lemon... oh 🤤😋 but I digress. Today I made tostas which I love with the sourdough bread I make myself and keep in my fridge.

INGREDIENTS

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For the stew:

about 1.5 kg fresh bull ray fish pulp (after removing the skin and bones, 60% of the weight remains in fish pulp)
about 1.5 kg veggies: red and green bell pepper - sweet and hot chili pepper - garlic - onion - fresh parsley - fresh cilantro
freshly squeezed lemon juice
1 tablespoon paprika
1 tablespoon ground cumin
some freshly cracked black pepper
1 tablespoon pulverized piloncillo
2-3 bay leaves
about 25 ml annatto oil
salt to taste

For the tostas:

homemade sourdough toasts
ripe plantain puree
mozzarella di buffala
arugula
olive oil
freshly cracked black pepper

THE PROCESS

Fish Pulp

I started by cooking the fish for about an hour in water with a little salt and a couple of bay leaves. Then I removed the skin and bones. The skin is thin and sticky and the bones are mostly cartilaginous, which means your hands are too busy to take photos.

Annatto oil

To make the annatto oil, I used a handful of annatto seeds and about 100 ml of olive oil. I cooked them over low heat, stirring gently so that the seeds would release their color, aroma, and flavor. This should be done without bringing the oil to a boil. Any prepared annatto oil you don't use can be stored in the pantry and will last a couple of months.

The sofrito

To make bull ray stew the traditional way, we need a sofrito. I chopped and fried the vegetables, staring by the onion.

I added the paprika, ground cumin, and bay leaves.

It's important to discard the seeds and veins of the bell peppers and chili peppers because they can make the sofrito bitter.

I minced the garlic. I got about 3 tablespoons.

I went adding the veggies in the cooking wok as I chopped them.

The fish

When the veggies were tender and had begun to brown...

...it was time to add the fish chunks and stir until it blended well with the sofrito.

As you stir it with the spoon, the pieces of boiled fish break apart and mix well with the sautéed vegetables and their juices.

Freshness

When the stew was practically done, I added the fresh parsley, freshly squeezed lemon juice, and freshly cracked black pepper. This makes the stew smell and taste fresh.