Steamed flying fish is practically Barbados' national dish. It is a wonderful, vivid stew, usually served with coo-coo, the Bajun name for fungee. This is my spicy, uplifting version of it. Despite the title, there's not a steamer in sight. The steaming happens when the fish cooks in the sauce, with the lid on the pan to trap the steam inside. Since flying fish are rather hard to come by in the UK, I would suggest red snapper or sea bass.

Serves 4

Preparation time: 15 minutes Cooking time: 30 minutes

Ingredients 2 medium-sized red snappers or sea bass, filleted Juice of 2 limes Salt and freshly ground pepper 30g butter 1 large onion, sliced 4 cloves garlic, finely chopped 2 tomatoes, deseeded and roughly chopped 1 tsp caster sugar (optional) 1 tbsp chopped parsley Small bundle fresh thyme 1 tsp curry paste or curry powder ˝-1 tsp hot pepper sauce 250ml water ˝ green pepper, deseeded and very thinly sliced

Instructions Rub the fish fillets with the lime juice and a little salt. Set aside for 10 minutes, then pat dry, roll up each fillet and secure with a toothpick.

Melt the butter in a frying pan over a medium-low heat. Add the onion and fry gently until tender.
Add the garlic and cook for a few minutes more until the onion is lightly browned. Add the tomatoes, sugar if using, herbs, curry paste or powder and hot sauce. Season.
Cook, stirring occasionally, for around 5 minutes, until the tomato has collapsed to make a thick sauce.
Add the water and stir well. Simmer for another 5 minutes. Carefully place the rolls of fish into the sauce, strew the thinly sliced peppers over them, then cover the pan tightly.