Anytime Fish and Shellfish Stew
This is a sort of ad-lib fish stew, inspired by the kind of stew you’d find served in the South of France: Its exact proportions and quantities aren’t set in stone. Use whatever white-fleshed fish and shellfish you like. Potatoes make the dish more substantial, and the slices really absorb all the lovely flavors of the stew.
- Total:
- Serves: 4 persons
Ingredients
- 3tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
- 1medium onion, diced (about 2 cups)
- Salt and pepper
- 4garlic cloves, minced
- 1bay leaf
- 1large thyme sprig
- Pinch of crumbled saffron threads
- Pinch of red-pepper flakes or a whole small dried red pepper
- Splash of dry white wine (about 1/4 cup)
- 1 ½cups chopped tomato, canned or fresh (about 2 medium)
- 4cups fish stock or water
- 2pounds yellow-fleshed potatoes, such as Yukon Gold, sliced about 1/4-inch thick
- 6medium cherrystone clams, scrubbed
- 1pound boneless, skinless cod or halibut, cut in 1-inch pieces
- 1pound mussels, cleaned
Instructions
Step 1
Heat olive oil over medium in a large, heavy-bottomed soup pot or Dutch oven. Add onions and stir to coat. Season with salt and pepper. Cook, stirring, until softened and lightly colored, about 10 minutes.Step 2
Stir in garlic, bay leaf, thyme, saffron and red pepper, and cook for 1 minute. Add wine and tomatoes, and simmer 1 minute. Add stock and bring to a slow boil over medium. Add potatoes and a good pinch of salt. Adjust heat to a brisk simmer. Cook with lid ajar until potatoes are just done, about 10 minutes. Taste broth — it should be well seasoned — and adjust as necessary. (You can do this up to an hour ahead of time.)Step 3
As the broth simmers, add the clams, and cook for 5 minutes, covered with the lid ajar. Add cod and mussels on top, cover and cook until the mussels are done, 4 to 5 minutes. Turn off heat, and let the stew steep for 5 to 10 minutes, until the mussels and clams open. Serve in wide soup bowls.