Zubereitung

1. 1

   Rinse the fish fillets under cold water, pat them dry and pull out any bones you can feel with tweezers. Cut the fish into pieces of about 5 cm, mix with half the salt and the juice of half a lemon and leave to marinate, covered, in the fridge.

2. 2

   Meanwhile, peel and halve the onions and cut them into strips. Deseed the pointed peppers and the bell pepper and cut them into strips, peel and slice the garlic and dice the tomatoes.

3. 3

   Heat the olive oil in a wide casserole or a deep frying pan with a lid and sweat the onions over a medium heat until translucent and soft.

4. 4

   Add the pointed peppers, bell pepper and garlic and sweat them too, stirring, until the peppers soften.

5. 5

   Stir in the red pepper paste and tomato paste and fry briefly until fragrant, without letting them burn.

6. 6

   Add the tomatoes, water, the remaining salt, the red pepper flakes and pepper, bring to the boil and simmer, covered, over a low heat until the tomatoes break down into a thickish sauce.

7. 7

   Lay the pieces of fish side by side in the sauce and spoon a little sauce over them. Braise, covered, over a low heat without stirring; just shake the pot gently so that the fish does not fall apart.

8. 8

   Test for doneness on a thick piece: the flesh should no longer be translucent and should come away from the bones, with a core temperature of 62 to 65 °C. Otherwise braise for another 2 to 3 minutes, covered.

9. 9

   Wash and chop the parsley. Season the stew to taste with the juice of the remaining lemon half and salt and bring it to the table in the pot, sprinkled with parsley.

10. 10

    Carp has fine intramuscular bones that do not disappear completely even after scoring; watch out for them when eating and give children the fish flaked and with the bones removed.

11. 11

    Tip: Serve with Nanê tenûrê — flatbread from the clay oven, baked on a stone in the home oven, for mopping up the sauce, or with Birinc bi şehriye — white rice with toasted vermicelli. Catfish has hardly any bones and stays particularly firm when braised, which makes it the easier choice for families with children. Cool leftovers quickly, keep them covered in the fridge and eat within a day; likewise, put leftover rice in the fridge within two hours at the latest.