Seafood Stew Recipes

Southern California Cioppino

Ingredients

* 1/4 cup olive oil
* 1 onion, chopped
* 4 stalks celery, chopped, with leaves
* 4 carrots, sliced
* 4 potatoes, peeled and cubed
* 1 tablespoon minced garlic
* 1/4 cup chopped parsley
* 2 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro
* 1 (28 ounce) can crushed tomatoes
* 2 cups tomato juice
* 2 (8 ounce) jars clam juice
* 1/2 cup white wine
* 2 teaspoons dried basil
* 1 1/2 teaspoons dried oregano
* 1 tablespoon dried thyme
* 3/4 teaspoon chili powder
* 1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper
* salt and pepper to taste
* 1 pound halibut steaks, cubed
* 1 pound medium shrimp - peeled and deveined
* 1 pound mussels, cleaned and debearded
* 2 pounds clams in shell, scrubbed
* 1 pound cooked crabmeat
* 1 pound bay or sea scallops, rinsed and drained

Directions

1. Heat the oil in a large stockpot over medium heat. Stir in the onion, celery, carrots, potatoes, and garlic, and cook 5 to 10 minutes. Add parsley, cilantro, tomatoes, tomato juice, clam juice, white wine, basil, oregano, thyme, chili powder, cayenne pepper, salt and black pepper. Reduce heat and simmer for 2 hours.
2. Approximately 15 to 20 minutes before you are ready to serve the cioppino, stir in the fish, shrimp, mussels, clams, crab, and scallops. Continue to cook and stir approximately 5 minutes, or until the shrimp are pink and the clams and mussel shells have opened. Remove any unopened mussels or clams before serving.

Bouillabaisse (Occitan: bolhabaissa) is a traditional Provençal fish stew originating from the port city of Marseille. The French and English form bouillabaisse comes from the Provençal Occitan word bolhabaissa , a compound that consists of the two verbs bolhir (to boil) and abaissar (to reduce heat, i.e., simmer).

Bouillabaisse is a fish soup containing various kinds of cooked fish and shellfish and vegetables, flavored with a variety of herbs and spices such as garlic, orange peel, basil, bay leaf, fennel and saffron. There are at least three kinds of fish in a traditional bouillabaisse, typically scorpionfish (fr: rascasse); sea robin (fr: grondin); and European conger (fr: congre); and it can also include gilt-head bream (fr: dorade); turbot; monkfish (fr: lotte or baudroie); mullet; or silver hake (fr: merlan) It also usually includes shellfish and other seafood such as sea urchins (fr: oursins), mussels (fr: moules); small crabs (fr: etrilles); spider crab (fr: araignées de mer) or octopus. More expensive versions may add langoustine. Vegetables such as leeks, onions, tomatoes, celery and potatoes are simmered together with the broth and served with the fish. The broth is traditionally served with a rouille, a mayonnaise made of olive oil, garlic, saffron and cayenne pepper on grilled slices of bread.

What makes a bouillabaisse different from other fish soups is the selection of Provencal herbs and spices in the broth, the use of bony local Mediterranean fish, and the method of serving. In Marseille, the broth is served first in a bowl containing the bread and rouille, with the seafood and vegetables served separately in another bowl or on a platter.

Recipes for bouillabaisse vary from family to family in Marseille, and local restaurants dispute which versions are the most authentic.

In Marseille, bouillabaisse is rarely made for fewer than ten persons; the more people who share the meal, and the more different fish that are included, the better the bouillabaisse.

An authentic Marseille bouillabaisse must include rascasse (eng: scorpionfish), a bony rockfish which lives in the calanque and reefs close to shore. It usually also has congre (eng: European conger) and grondin (eng: sea robin). According to the Michelin Guide Vert, the four essential elements of a true bouillabaisse are the presence of rascasse, the freshness of the fish; olive oil, and an excellent saffron.

The American chef and food writer Julia Child, who lived in Marseille for a year, wrote: "to me the telling flavor of bouillabaisse comes from two things: the Provençal soup base - garlic, onions, tomatoes, olive oil, fennel, saffron, thyme, bay, and usually a bit of dried orange peel - and, of course, the fish - lean (non-oily), firm-fleshed, soft-fleshed, gelatinous, and shellfish."

This is the recipe from one of the most traditional Marseille restaurants, Grand Bar des Goudes on Rue Désirée-Pelleprat. :

The Classic Marseille Bouillabaisse

* 4 kilograms of fish and shellfish:
o grondin (eng. sea robin)
o Rascasse blanche (eng. scorpionfish);
o rouget grondin (red Gurnard);
o congre (eng. conger);
o baudroie (lotte, or monkfish);
o saint-pierre (eng. John Dory);
o live octopus[5]
o 10 sea urchins
* 1 kilogram of potatoes
* 7 cloves of garlic
* 3 onions
* 5 ripe tomatoes
* 1 cup of olive oil
* 1 bouquet garni
* 1 branch of fennel
* 8 pistils of saffron
* 10 slices of pain de campagne (country bread)
* salt and Cayenne pepper

The Rouille

* 1 egg yolk
* 2 cloves of garlic
* 1 cup of olive oil
* 10 pistils of saffron
* salt and Cayenne pepper

1. Clean and scale the fish and wash them, if possible in sea water. Cut them into large slices, leaving the bones. Wash the octopus and cut into pieces.

2. Put the olive oil in a large casserole. Add the onions, cleaned and sliced; 6 cloves of garlic, crushed; the pieces of octopus, and the tomatoes peeled and quartered, without seeds. Brown at low heat, turning gently for five minutes, for the oil to take in the flavors.

3. Add the sliced fish, beginning with the thickest to the smallest. Cover with boiling water, and add the salt and the pepper, the fennel, the bouquet garni and the saffron. Boil at a low heat, stirring from time to time so the fish doesn't stick to the casserole. Correct the seasoning. The bouillabaisse is cooked when the juice of the cooking is well blended with the oil and the water. (about twenty minutes).

4. Prepare the rouille: Remove the stem of the garlic, crush the cloves into a fine paste with a pestle in a mortar. Add the egg yolk and the saffron, then blend in the olive oil little by little to make a mayonnaise, stirring it with the pestle.

5. Cook the potatoes, peeled and boiled and cut into large slices, in salted water for 15 to 20 minutes. Open the sea urchins with a pair of scissors and remove the Corail with a small spoon.

6. Arrange the fish on a platter. Add the corail of the sea urchins into the broth and stir.

Serve the bouillon very hot with the rouille in bowls over thick slices of bread rubbed with garlic. Then serve the fish and the potatoes on a separate platter.

Another version of the classic Marseille bouillabaisse, presented in the Petit LaRousse de la Cuisine, uses congre, dorade, grondin, lotte, merlan, rascasse, saint-pierre, and small crabs (etrilles), and includes leeks. In this version, the heads and trimmings of the fish are put together with onions, celery and garlic browned in olive oil, and covered with boiling water for twenty minutes. Then the vegetables and bouquet garni are added, and then the pieces of fish in a specific order; first the rascasse, then the grondin, the lotte, congre, dorade, etrilles, and saffran. The dish is cooked for eight minutes over high heat. Then the most delicate fish, the saint pierre and merlan, are added, and the dish is cooked another 5-8 minutes. The broth is then served over bread with the rouille on top, and the fish and crabs are served on a large platter.

Other variations add different seasonings, such as orange peel, and sometimes a cup of white wine or cognac is added.

Italian Fish Soup

For soup

* 1 lb cleaned squid, bodies and tentacles separated but kept intact
* 1/2 lb large shrimp in shell (21 to 25 per lb), peeled, leaving tail and first segment of shell intact, and deveined
* 1/8 teaspoon black pepper
* 3/4 teaspoon salt
* 1/4 cup olive oil
* 3 garlic cloves, finely chopped
* 1/2 teaspoon dried hot red pepper flakes
* 1/4 teaspoon dried oregano, crumbled
* 1 cup dry white wine
* 4 1/2 cups water
* 12 small hard-shelled clams such as littlenecks (less than 2 inches in diameter), scrubbed
* 12 mussels (preferably cultivated), scrubbed and beards removed
* 4 cups fish stock or bottled clam juice (32 fl oz)
* 2 (14-oz) cans diced tomatoes in juice
* 1 teaspoon sugar
* 1 lb skinless halibut fillet, cut into 1-inch pieces
* 1/4 cup chopped fresh basil
* 1/4 cup chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley

For garlic toasts

* 1 (12-inch) Italian loaf, cut into 1/2-inch-thick slices
* 2 tablespoons olive oil
* 1 garlic clove, halved crosswise
* 2 tablespoons finely chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley

* Accompaniment: extra-virgin olive oil for drizzling

Make soup:

Rinse squid under cold running water and pat dry. If squid are large, halve ring of tentacles, then cut longer tentacles crosswise into 2-inch pieces. Pull off flaps from squid bodies and cut into 1/4-inch-thick slices. Cut bodies crosswise into 1/4-inch-thick rings.

Pat shrimp dry and sprinkle with pepper and 1/4 teaspoon salt. Heat oil in a wide 6- to 8-quart heavy pot over moderately high heat until hot but not smoking, then sear shrimp in 2 batches, turning over once, until golden but not cooked through, about 2 minutes per batch. Transfer shrimp with a slotted spoon to a bowl.

Add garlic, red pepper flakes, and oregano to pot and sauté, stirring, until golden, about 30 seconds. Add wine and 1/2 cup water and bring to a boil. Stir in clams and cook, covered, over moderately high heat until shells open wide, checking frequently after 6 minutes and transferring as opened with a slotted spoon to bowl with shrimp. (Discard any unopened clams after 8 minutes.) Stir in mussels and cook, covered, over moderately high heat until shells open wide, checking frequently after 3 minutes and transferring as opened with a slotted spoon to bowl with shrimp. (Discard any unopened mussels after 6 minutes.)

Put oven rack in middle position and preheat oven to 425°F.

Add stock to pot along with remaining 4 cups water, tomatoes with juice, sugar, and remaining 1/2 teaspoon salt and simmer, uncovered, 15 minutes.

Make toasts while stock simmers:

Arrange bread slices in 1 layer on a baking sheet, then drizzle with oil and season with salt. Bake, turning over once, until golden, about 10 minutes total. Transfer toasts to a rack to cool slightly, then rub lightly with cut sides of garlic and sprinkle with parsley.

Finish soup:

Add halibut to stock and cook at a bare simmer, covered, until just cooked through, about 2 minutes. Stir in squid and reserved shellfish, then remove from heat and let stand, covered, 1 minute. Stir in basil and parsley and serve immediately, with toasts alongside for dipping.

Portuguese Fish Stew

Ingredients

* 1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil, plus more for serving
* 2 medium onions, chopped
* 4 garlic cloves, finely chopped
* 1 pound linguica or chorizo sausage, sliced in chunks
* 5 sprigs fresh thyme sprigs
* 1 handful fresh oregano, hand torn
* 2 bay leaves
* 2 pounds Yukon gold potatoes, sliced
* 3 quarts chicken broth
* 1 pound kale, chopped
* Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
* 2 dozen Littleneck clams, scrubbed
* 1/2 pound perch, cod, or bass fillets, skin and pin bones removed
* 1/4 cup coarsely chopped flat-leaf parsley
* 1 Recipe Rustic Crusty bread, for serving, recipe follows

Directions

Heat the oil in a heavy 4 to 6-quart pot over medium flame. Add the onions, garlic, and sausage; cook, stirring with wooden spoon, until the sausage renders out some of its fat and the onions are soft. Toss in the herbs and then the potatoes, stir that around for a minute to coat in the oil. Pour in the chicken broth and bring up to a simmer. Add the kale, season with salt and pepper. Cover and simmer for 10 minutes until the potatoes are nearly tender.

Uncover the pot and add the clams; simmer, covered, for 15 minutes until the clams open. Add the fish and continue to cook for another 3 to 5 minutes until the fish is cooked. Garnish with chopped parsley and drizzle with olive oil. Ladle the stew into shallow bowls and serve with Rustic Garlic Bread for dunking.

Rustic Garlic Bread:

* 4 garlic cloves, coarsely chopped
* 4 fresh oregano sprigs, leaves stripped off the stem
* 4 fresh thyme sprigs, leaves stripped off the stem
* 1 handful fresh flat-leaf parsley, coarsely chopped
* 1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil
* Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
* 1 large loaf country or Portuguese bread

Combine the garlic and herbs in a bowl. Pour in the oil, season with salt and pepper. Mix the ingredients together with a spoon. Cut a slit down the middle of the loaf of bread, pour the garlic oil into the pocket, pressing with the back of a spoon to get the flavors into the bread. Wrap the bread in aluminum foil. Roast the garlic bread on a grill or bake in a preheated 350 degree F oven for 5 minutes until the outside is nice and crusty. Hand tear into pieces for serving.

Seafood Chowder

Ingredients

Serves 10

* 1/4 pound salt pork, cut into 1/8-inch cubes
* 1 tablespoon olive oil
* 1 large onion, finely chopped
* 1 1/2 cups chopped celery
* 1 1/2 quarts Fish Stock
* 4 cups peeled russet potatoes, cut into 1/4-inch cubes
* 2 bay leaves
* 1 pound (about 30) shelled, deveined shrimp, fresh or frozen
* 2 pounds Manila clams
* 1 pound cod, skin and bones removed, cut into chunks
* 1 cup heavy cream
* 1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper
* Coarse salt and freshly ground white pepper

Directions

1. Bring a large pot of water to a boil over medium-high heat. Add salt pork and cook for 10 minutes; drain.
2. Heat olive oil in a medium Dutch-oven over low heat. Add pork and cook for 5 minutes. Add onion and celery and cook, stirring, until soft. Add fish stock and bay leaves, and bring to a simmer. Add potatoes and cook until just tender, about 15 minutes. Add shrimp, clams, and fish, and simmer for 5 minutes.
3. Heat cream in a small saucepan over medium-low heat; add to Dutch-oven. Season chowder with cayenne, salt, and white pepper. Serve hot.

Puerto Rican Fish Stew (Bacalao)

Ingredients

2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
1 medium onion, chopped
4 cloves garlic, minced
1 pound flaky white fish, such as haddock, tilapia or cod (see Tip), cut into 1 1/2-inch pieces
1 14-ounce can diced tomatoes
1 Anaheim or poblano chile pepper, chopped
1/4 cup packed chopped fresh cilantro
2 tablespoons sliced pimento-stuffed green olives
1 tablespoon capers, rinsed
1 teaspoon dried oregano
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup water, as needed
1 avocado, chopped (optional)

Tip: Opt for firmer hook-and-line-caught haddock or U.S.-farmed tilapia. Pacific cod also works, but will be more flaky.

DIRECTIONS
Heat oil in a large high-sided skillet or Dutch oven over medium heat. Add onion and cook, stirring occasionally, until softened, about 2 minutes. Add garlic and cook, stirring, for 1 minute.

Add fish, tomatoes and their juices, chile pepper, cilantro, olives, capers, oregano and salt; stir to combine. Add up to 1/2 cup water if the mixture seems dry. Cover and simmer for 20 minutes. Remove from the heat. Serve warm or at room temperature, garnished with avocado (if using).

Tilapia Corn Chowder

Ingredients

2 ounces bacon (about 2 slices)
1 teaspoon canola oil
1 stalk celery, diced
1 leek, white part only, halved lengthwise, rinsed and thinly sliced
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground pepper
4 cups reduced-sodium chicken broth
8 ounces Yukon Gold potatoes, diced
2 cups fresh corn kernels (about 4 ears)
1 1/2 pounds tilapia fillets, cut into bite-size pieces
1 teaspoon finely chopped fresh thyme
1 cup half-and-half
2 teaspoons lemon juice
2 tablespoons chopped fresh chives (optional)

Directions

Chop bacon and cook in a large Dutch oven over medium heat until crispy, 3 to 4 minutes. Drain on paper towels.

Add oil to the pan. Add celery, leek, salt and pepper and cook until the vegetables just begin to soften, about 2 minutes. Add broth, potatoes and corn. Bring to a gentle simmer. Cook until the potatoes are just tender and the corn is cooked through, about 8 minutes. Stir in tilapia and thyme; return to a gentle simmer. Cook until the tilapia is cooked through, about 4 minutes more. Remove from the heat.

Stir in half-and-half, lemon juice and the reserved bacon. Garnish with chives, if using.