Mediterranean Seafood Stew Broth (Printable Version)

Hearty Mediterranean seafood dish with tomato-fennel broth, white wine, fresh fish, mussels, prawns, and bright lemon.

# Ingredients:

→ Seafood

01 - 225 g firm white fish (such as halibut, sea bass, mahi mahi, or black cod), cut into chunks
02 - 450 g mussels (or clams), cleaned and debearded
03 - 450 g large raw prawns, peeled and deveined (or substitute scallops)

→ Broth Base

04 - 2 cups (about 240 g) finely diced fennel (one large bulb)
05 - 1 cup (about 130 g) finely diced onion (half a large onion)
06 - 4 cloves garlic, smashed and roughly chopped
07 - 2 tablespoons tomato paste
08 - 1 cup (240 ml) dry white wine
09 - 4 cups (960 ml) chicken stock (or good fish stock)
10 - 1 teaspoon fish sauce (omit if using fish stock)
11 - 2 medium tomatoes, diced (or 1 can diced tomatoes with juices, about 400 g)

→ Seasoning and Garnish

12 - 1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes or cayenne pepper
13 - Salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
14 - 1/2 cup (about 15 g) chopped flat-leaf parsley
15 - 1 lemon, for squeezing

→ Optional

16 - 170–225 g crumbled Mexican chorizo, casing removed (or 1/4 cup finely diced cured Spanish chorizo)

# Steps:

01 - In a large heavy-bottomed pot or Dutch oven, heat a small amount of extra virgin olive oil over medium-high heat. Add crumbled chorizo, breaking it into small bite-sized pieces as it cooks until browned. Remove the browned chorizo, set aside, and pour off the rendered fat. Wipe out the pot with paper towels.
02 - In the same pot, heat olive oil over medium-high heat. Add fennel and cook, stirring, for about 3 minutes. Add onion, reduce heat to medium, and sauté fennel and onion together until softened and translucent, about 8–10 minutes.
03 - Stir in garlic and cook for 3 minutes until fragrant and just golden. Add tomato paste, increase heat to high, and fry while stirring constantly until the paste darkens, about 3 minutes, to deepen the flavour.
04 - Pour in white wine and cook over medium-high heat, stirring, until reduced by half, about 2 minutes. Add chicken or fish stock, diced tomatoes with juices, reserved browned chorizo, and fish sauce. Bring the mixture to a boil, then lower to a simmer.
05 - Add red pepper flakes and season with salt and black pepper to taste. Squeeze in the juice from half a lemon. Taste and adjust seasoning for a rich, balanced flavour.
06 - Add the white fish chunks and simmer gently for 2 minutes. Then add prawns and simmer an additional 2 minutes. Finally, add mussels (or clams). Continue cooking until mussels open and seafood is just cooked through, adjusting the timing depending on the size of each seafood component. Discard any unopened mussels.
07 - Taste and adjust salt and lemon as needed. Ladle stew into bowls and garnish generously with chopped parsley. Serve immediately.

# Notes:

01 - If omitting chorizo, a pinch of smoked paprika enhances depth of flavour.
02 - Substitute a cup of cooked cannellini beans for bread to make the dish gluten free.
03 - For additional texture, serve with toasted or grilled crusty bread rubbed with olive oil and fresh rosemary.

Go Back