A thin, tomato-and-onion catfish stew built from river fish, the cheapest protein the Delta offered. Slow-simmered with whatever was in the garden and stretched to feed a working family.
In the Delta, the river was the icebox and the bank for families who owned nothing. Catfish stew was Friday-night food, fish-fry overflow, and the meal that turned a single afternoon's catch into supper for eight. It carries the memory of men fishing the Yazoo after a day in the cotton rows and women turning that catch into something warm.
Catfish is a lean, affordable source of complete protein and omega-3 fatty acids that support cardiovascular and brain health — both areas where Black Americans carry disproportionate burden. Simmered in tomato rather than fried, the stew preserves the fish's B12 and selenium while adding lycopene from the tomato base, an antioxidant linked to lower prostate cancer risk in Black men. A bowl is satiating on few calories, which mattered when calories were rationed by the commissary ledger.
Sauté onion, bell pepper, and celery in a little oil. Add canned or fresh tomatoes, water or stock, bay leaf, and seasoning. Simmer the base 20 minutes, then lay in catfish fillets or steaks and poach gently 10-12 minutes until the flesh flakes. Do not boil hard or the fish breaks apart. Serve over rice to stretch it.
Free, no account needed to ask.