Ingredients

• 2 tablespoons butter
• 1 large onion, chopped
• 1/2 cup celery, chopped
• 1/2 cup green bell pepper, Chopped
• 1 garlic clove, minced
• 1 lemon, zested finely and juiced (more to taste)
• 1 (28 ounce) can diced tomatoes
• 1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
• 1 tablespoon paprika
• 1 bay leaf
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon thyme leaves
• 1/4 teaspoon Tabasco sauce (or other)
• 2 lbs catfish fillets
• hot cooked rice (white or brown)

Instructions

1. Melt butter in wide frying pan or dutch oven over medium heat; add onion, celery, green pepper, and garlic. Cook until soft (about 7 minutes); add tomatoes, lemon zest and juice, Worcestershire, paprika, bay leaf, salt, thyme and Tabasco. Cook, stirring occasionally, for about 15 minutes until sauce is slightly thickened.

2. Press fish pieces down into sauce; spoon some of the sauce over the top of fish. Cover pan and simmer gently until fish flakes readily when prodded in thickest portion with a fork. For a 1 1/2 inch-thick piece of fish (measured in thickest portion), allow 15 minutes.

3. To serve, spoon fish and sauce over cooked rice or add a bit of rice right to the pan.