Halibut and Chorizo Stew

I subscribe to Cooking Light and receive recipes in my email box from allrecipes.com, America's Test Kitchen, and the like... only to read them, make my usual comments of "Oh, that looks good!", and then toss them to the side as I reach for the 20 or so recipes in my binder that are now smudgey and splattered from constant use.  Moroccan chicken, chicken adobo, poppy seed chicken (hm, do I sense a trend here?)... Tried and true, they are, but now are also oh, so trite.

One of my new year's resolutions is to try a new recipe at least once very two weeks.  That doesn't sound like much, but given my track record, I wanted a schedule that was attainable and wouldn't overwhelm me, lest I give up and go running back to chicken tortilla soup.  Tonight, I made Halibut and Chorizo Stew from Cooking Light (oh, I am also trying to venture beyond chicken and ground turkey).

And... ta-da!

After I made this, I realized I should have taken step-by-step pictures and then described my process along the way, as seen on so many other blogs.  Maybe I will next time.  ..... eh, yeah, right.  I'm a mother of a 9-month-old, who frantically struggles to get dinner on the table before 8pm!  Who am I kidding?  No time for pretty pictures!

Anyway, back to the stew.  It covered all my requisites for a stellar weeknight dinner--quick (20 minute meal), nutritious, and tasty!  And there was minimal clean-up!  Success!  I am definitely adding this to my (hopefully growing) rotation of recipes!

Halibut and Chorizo Stew
courtesy of Cooking Light, December 2012

2 tsp olive oil
2 oz Spanish chorizo sausage, diced (I actually used turkey sausage, because that's what I had on hand)
1 cup chopped onion
3 garlic cloves, sliced (I minced it, because I personally don't like biting into whole garlic, but I understand I'm mostly in the minority here)
1/2 cup dry sherry (I used brandy, which I had in the cupboard)
1/2 fat-free, lower sodium chicken broth
1-1/2 Tbsp chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
1/4 tsp kosher salt
1/4 tsp freshly ground black pepper
1 (28 oz) can diced tomatoes, drained
1 (15 oz) can chickpeas, rinsed and drained
4 (5 oz) skinless halibut fillets (I used half halibut and half tilapia, as my store didn't have enough halibut.)

1. Heat a large saute pan over medium heat.  Add 1 tsp oil to pan. Add chorizo; saute for 3 minutes or until lightly browned.  Add onion; saute 3 minutes or until just tender.  Add garlic; saute 1 minute.  Add sherry; cook 1-1/2 minutes, scraping pan to loosen browned bits.  Stir in broth and next 5 ingredients (through chickpeas); stir to combine.
2. Nestle halibut fillets in stew; spoon tomato mixture over fillets.  Cover and simmer 5 minutes or until fish flakes easily with a fork or desired degree of doneness.
3. Serve with crusty bread, like ciabatta or pugliese.