8/15/18 O&A NYC DINNER FOR TWO: Summer Seafood Stew

Summer Seafood Stew in a light and flavorful tomato-fennel broth with smoky chorizo. Serve with Crusty Bread to mop up all the flavorful juices! For a Gluten-free option, instead of bread add cannellini beans!

If you are efficient in the kitchen, this can be made in 30 minutes. The flavorful fennel- tomato broth can also be made ahead and refrigerated,  and when you are ready to eat, heat it up on the stove and finish by adding the seafood.

Ingredients

          6-8 ounces crumbled shorizo
          2 cups finely diced fennel ( one large bulb)
          1 cup finely diced onion ( half a large onion)
          4 garlic cloves, smashed and roughly diced
          2 T tomato paste
          1 Cup dry white wine
          4 Cups Chicken Stock ( or a good fish stock)
          1 tsp fish sauce ( leave out if using fish stock)
          2 medium tomatoes- diced ( or one can of diced tomatoes and juices)
          8 oz firm fish like halibut, talapia, mahi mahi, or salmon
           1 lb mussels ( or sub clams)
           1 lb large prawns, raw, peeled and de-veined ( or sub scallops)
           ½ teaspoon chili flakes or cayenne
           salt and pepper to taste
           ½ cup chopped flat leaf parsley
           1 lemon
           Crusty Bread or 1 Cup of Cannellini Beans

Instructions

  1. In a large heavy bottom deep skillet or Dutch oven, brown 6-8 ounces chorizo in a little olive oil.  (Remove from casing and break up or crumble into small bite size pieces). Once browned, set aside. Pour off the fat, wipe out skillet with paper towel.
  2. In same skillet, heat 2 T olive oil on med high heat. Add fennel, stirring often for about 3 minutes. Add onion, turn heat down to med and saute both until tender, about 8-10 minutes. Add garlic, sauté 3 minutes, stirring occasionally, until garlic starts turn golden. Add tomato paste. Turn heat up to high, constantly stirring, until paste darkens, about 3 more minutes. You are basically frying the paste to deepen the flavor of the dish.
  3. Add white wine and turn heat down to medium high, stirring until it cooks down by half, about 2 minutes. Add chicken stock, tomatoes, browned chorizo, and fish sauce and bring to a simmer.
  4. Add salt and pepper to taste, and chili flakes. If using chorizo, the broth may be salty enough- each chorizo is different. Squeeze with half the lemon. Taste. You want the broth to taste rich and flavorful.
  5.  Add fish, simmer a couple minutes and add prawns, simmer a couple minutes, then add mussels. Remember the larger the prawns or mussels or fish pieces the longer they take to cook, so look at all your seafood ingredients and determine which will take the longest to cook, putting them in first.
  6. Taste, adjust salt and lemon to your preferences.
  7. Divide among bowls and Finish with the fresh parsley.

Notes

  1. Optional : Serve with crusty bread. I like to cut a loaf of good quality garlic or rosemary bread into thick slices, arrange on a baking sheet, drizzle with olive oil and fresh rosemary sprigs, and bake in a 400F oven until toasty, or even better, grill the bread.
  2. If you are going gluten free, try adding a cup of cooked cannellini beans to the stew for added heartiness, instead of serving with bread.

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