30Min Seafood Stew!

This stew is the perfect dish for entertaining. Make the broth the day before and add the seafood five minutes before you want to serve it. Toast up some bread and you'll have a dinner that will impress!

INGREDIENTS

• 3 tablespoons olive oil

• 1 cup thinly sliced fennel

• 1 cup finely diced onion

• 2 cloves garlic, finely chopped

• 1 carrot, peeled and diced

• 3-4 thyme leaves

• 2 tablespoons tomato paste

• 1 teaspoon fennel seeds

• 1 teaspoon fish sauce

• 1 14-ounce can whole peeled tomatoes

• 1 cup dry white wine

• 16 ounces clam juice

• 8 ounces firm fish like halibut, cod or tilapia cut into 1-inch pieces

• 1 pound manila clams, scrubbed

• 1 pound shrimp, peeled and deveined

• ¼ cup chopped fresh parsley

• salt and pepper to taste

• To serve:

• crusty bread

• olive oil

• lemon wedges

INSTRUCTIONS

1. In a dutch oven, heat the olive oil over medium heat and add the fennel, onion, carrot and thyme leaves and cook stirring occasionally for 5 minutes until the vegetables have softened. Add the garlic, tomato paste, fennel seeds and fish sauce and cook for 2-3 minutes until the paste darkens slightly. Add the white wine to deglaze the pan and cook until the wine is slightly reduced 1-2 minutes. Drain the tomato juice into the pan and then crush the tomatoes with your hand or the back of the spoon into bite-sized pieces. Add the clam juice and bring the mixture to a simmer. You can prep the broth to this point, let the soup cool and refrigerate overnight if desired. To finish the stew add the fish to the pot and cook for 2 minutes. Add the clams and the shrimp to the stew and cover for 2-3 minutes until the clams start to open and the shrimp is cooked through. Taste for salt and pepper and sprinkle with the parsley. Serve the stew with some crusty toasted bread rubbed with olive oil and lemon wedges.