I grew up in Florida, and catfish stew is something I've enjoyed many times at seafood restaurants and backyard fish fries. It's a flavorful, brothy stew packed with vegetables.

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Zach Boyden-Holmes/Staff

Catfish stew

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Corn muffins

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The vegetables are saueed in bacon drippings, and crispy bacon is crumbled into the finished soup. The bacon adds a lot of flavor, but you can omit it for a lighter version.

Any light, white fish will work in this recipe: Tilapia, basa and flounder are all good options. You might want to add shrimp, scallops or lump crab meat during the last few minutes of cooking.

Though the roots of this stew are in the coastal South, you can make a few changes and come up with a Mediterranean version. Omit the bacon and heat two tablespoons of olive oil in the Dutch oven. Add a tin of anchovies along with the onions and garlic, and then follow the recipe as directed.

Ladle into bowls and serve with corn muffins (my recipe is below) and a big tossed salad.

Reach Karin Calloway at karin.calloway@comcast.net. See her prepare the recipe at noon Tuesday on television station WJBF (Channel 6).

Follow her on Twitter at twitter.com/karincalloway.

CATFISH STEW

6 slices thick-cut bacon, diced

1 large onion, diced

2 cloves garlic, minced, about 2 teaspoons

1 large potatoes, peeled and diced

2 carrots, peeled and thinly sliced

2 14.5-ounce cans diced tomatoes or sliced stewed tomatoes, undrained

1 8-ounce can tomato sauce

4 cups bottled clam juice or chicken or fish stock

1/2 cup dry white wine

1 bay leaf

1 1/2 pounds skinless U.S. farm-raised catfish fillets, cut into 3-inch pieces

1/3 cup chopped fresh parsley

Dash Tabasco sauce

Salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste

Heat a Dutch oven over medium-high and add the bacon. Sauté until the bacon is crisp. Remove with a slotted spoon and drain on a paper towel-lined plate.

Remove all but 2 tablespoons of bacon drippings from the pan. Add the chopped onion and garlic and sauté over medium heat until onion is translucent, about 4 to 5 minutes.

Add the potatoes, carrot, tomatoes, tomato sauce, clam juice or broth, white wine and bay leaf and simmer for 25 minutes, until the potatoes are tender. Add the catfish, chopped parsley, Tabasco, salt and pepper and simmer, covered, for 20 to 30 minutes more. Add the reserved bacon pieces and stir to break up the catfish pieces.

Makes 8 to 10 servings.

CORN MUFFINS

11/2 cups yellow cornmeal

2 tablespoons all-purpose flour

3 tablespoons sugar

1 teaspoon salt

4 teaspoons baking powder

15 ounces creamed corn

1/2 cup fat free sour cream

2 large eggs, beaten, or 1/2 cup liquid egg substitute

Set oven to 375 degrees. Combine dry ingredients in a medium bowl. Stir in the creamed corn, sour cream and eggs or egg substitute. Stir until smooth and then spoon the batter into a 12-cup muffin tin that has been sprayed with nonstick cooking spray. Bake for 20 minutes.

Makes 12 muffins.