Delicious Seafood Stew

So easy to make and ridiculously delicious! This is a favorite dish in our house especially given that it tastes like something you would get at a restaurant and you don’t need to leave home. Given our current stay at home situation with COVID, this meal is nice for one of those evenings when you want to do something special for dinner.

Makes 2 generous portions

Ingredients:

• Juice of 1 lime
• 3/4 lb large shrimp (deveined and shells removed, may leave tail ends)
• 1 lb mussels (bearded)
• 3/4 lb white fish (cut into cubes) I used Mahi Mahi, you can also use cod
• Handful of cilantro (chopped)
• 1/2 tsp of salt
• 1/2 tsp black pepper
• 1/2 tsp paprika
• 1/2 tsp lemon pepper
• 1/2 tsp garlic powder
• 3 – 4 tbsp olive oil
• 6 cloves garlic (minced)
• 2 whole bay leaves (or dry leaves or 1 tsp dry minced)
• 1 medium shallot (sliced)
• 1/2 white onion (diced)
• 1 can of 28 oz whole peeled tomatoes (or diced tomatoes)
• 2 – 2 1/2 cups of chicken broth (you can use 1.5 cups chicken broth and 1 cup clam juice)
• 2 sprigs of thyme (or 1 tsp dried thyme)
• Salt and pepper to taste
• 2 stalks of scallion (chopped)
• Handful of parsley for serving

Instructions:

1. Using the juice of 1/2 lime, wash out the shrimp. Use the other 1/2 lime juice to wash out the fish.
2. Season the shrimp and white fish with salt, black pepper, paprika, lemon pepper, and garlic powder.
3. Heat 1 tbsp of olive oil in a cast iron dutch oven on medium heat. You can also use a regular non-stick deep saute pan.
4. Saute onions and bay leaves for 4 – 5 minutes, until soft and fragrant.
5. Add shallots and cook for another 2 minutes.
6. Add garlic and cook for another 2 minutes.
7. Add half a cup of white wine, reduce heat to low and cook until the wine is reduced to half (about 3 minutes). Add 2 cups of chicken stock.
8. If using diced tomatoes, add to pot. If using whole tomatoes, chop tomatoes into smaller pieces, add tomatoes and sauce from can to the pot.
9. Season with salt and pepper to taste.
10. Add thyme and scallions. Bring to a boil and cook for 15 – 20 minutes.
11. While broth is cooking, in a separate pan add 1 tbsp olive oil and sear fish. Add fish to pan evenly spaced and cook on the first side for 1-2 minutes until browned, turn fish and cook on the other side for 1 minute. If cooking in batches, add more oil between batches.
12. After cooking the fish, cook the shrimp the same way. Set aside fish and shrimp in a dish.
13. After about 20 minutes of cooking broth, add muscles and cover pot. Cook for 5 minutes. If broth is too thick, add some more chicken stock.
14. Once muscles have cooked, they should be open at this point. Add the fish and the shrimp to the pot and cook for another 3 minutes.
15. Using a slotted spoon, remove seafood and place in a serving dish. Add 1 tbsp butter, and parsley to the broth. Cook until butter is melted and broth thickens a bit (about 1 minute).
16. Spoon broth over the seafood and serve. Serve with crusty bread, garlic bread or sourdough toast.
17. If you want a dish with more broth skip steps 15 & 16 (see below for a picture of stew with more broth).