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Summer Seafood Stew Recipes

We’ve had a rainy spring here in New England this year. While we hope June holds more sunny days, these Summer Seafood Stews are perfect to keep the doldrums away on dreary days. Both are brimming with shellfish and fish to replenish your vitamin-D and fill you up without weighing you down.

Tomato-Fennel Summer Seafood Stew

fresh seafood stewThis stew from Feasting at Home Blog has a light, smoky tomato-fennel broth with bits of chorizo along with mussels, prawns, and fish. If you know your way around the kitchen, you can get this stew on the table in just 30 minutes. Serve with a side of bread or cannellini beans.

Ingredients

6–8 ounces crumbled chorizo

2 cups or one large bulb of fennel, finely diced

1 cup or half a large onion, finely diced

4 garlic cloves, smashed and roughly diced

2 Tablespoons tomato paste

1 cup dry white wine

4 cups chicken stock or fish stock

1 teaspoon fish sauce (leave out when using fish stock)

2 medium tomatoes or 1 can of tomatoes, diced

8 oz firm fish (such as halibut, tilapia, mahi-mahi, or salmon)

1 lb. mussels or clams

1 lb. large prawns, raw, peeled and deveined (or sub scallops)

½ teaspoon chili flakes or cayenne pepper

salt and pepper to taste

½ cup flat leaf parsley, chopped

1 lemon

Instructions

1. Remove the chorizo from its casing and crumble bite-size pieces into a Dutch oven or large, heavy bottom deep skillet with a little olive oil in it. Brown over medium heat. Once browned, remove the chorizo from the skillet and set aside. Pour out the fat but leave a little at the bottom.

2. In the same skillet, add a little olive oil to the fat. Sauté the diced fennel and onion until they are tender and caramelized. Then add the garlic and sauté until it is golden.

3. Add the tomato paste to the hot pan and sauté on high heat until it darkens. (This will give it a rich umami flavor.)

4. Turn the heat down to medium-high. Gradually pour in the white wine. Stir it regularly until it reduces by about half.

5. Pour in the chicken stock and fish sauce or fish stock. Add the browned chorizo and tomatoes. Bring to a simmer.

6. Season with salt and pepper to taste and a dash of chili flakes. (You may not need to add salt depending on the type of chorizo that you use). Squeeze in the juice from half a lemon.

7. Once you are satisfied with the taste of the broth, add in the seafood. Start with the fish, then prawns, then mussels. Simmer until the fish and prawns are just cooked and the mussels’ shells have popped open.

8. Divide into bowls, top with fresh parsley and serve.

Light Summer Seafood Stew

This light stew from Bon Appetite tastes delicious fresh off the stove or the next day. It can serve up to 12 people.

Ingredients

1/4 cup olive oil

5 cups onions, chopped

3 tablespoons garlic, minced

2 28-ounce cans diced tomatoes in juice

3 cups dry white wine

3 (8-ounces) bottles clam juice

3/4 cup tomato paste (about 1 1/2 cans)

3 bay leaves

2 tablespoons fresh thyme, chopped

2 1/2 teaspoons orange peel, grated

2 1/2 teaspoons fennel seeds, crushed

3/4 teaspoon dried crushed red pepper

24 littleneck clams, scrubbed

2 3/4 lbs. cod fillets, cut into 2-inch pieces

1 1/2 lbs. uncooked large shrimp, peeled, deveined

1 lb. bay scallops

Chopped fresh basil

Instructions

fish stew with clams, shrimp, and cod1. Add oil to a heavy, large pot and heat over medium. Sauté the onions and garlic until the garlic is golden and the onions are tender (about 10 minutes).

2. Add the tomatoes and stir in the tomato paste. Slowly pour in the dry white wine and clam juice. Then add the bay leaves, fresh thyme, orange peel, fennel seeds, and crushed red pepper. Bring to a boil.

3. Reduce the heat and simmer uncovered until the liquid reduces moderately and the flavors blend together (about 45 minutes).

4. Add the clams then cover and cook until they pop open (about 10 minutes). Once the clams are cooked, add the shrimp, scallops, and cod. Simmer until they are just cooked (about 5 minutes).

5. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Then divide into bowls, top with basil and serve.

Let us know in the comments if you tried this recipe or have a favorite summer stew of your own! If you are looking for a fish market with the best seafood in New England, stop by City Fish Market! We’re off Silas Deane Highway in Wethersfield, CT.