I made this with a little of this and a little of that. It turned out awesome, so I’ll be wanting to make this again.

  • Ingredients
  • Olive oil
  • 3-4 cloves garlic, finely minced
  • 3 sprigs fresh thyme leaves
  • 1/4 tsp. crushed saffron threads
  • 1 tsp. dried basil
  • 1/4 tsp. cayenne
  • 1 tsp. sea salt
  • Fresh ground pepper
  • 1-1/2 cups dry white wine
  • 11 oz. can tomato puree (you could try same amount of passata or homemade puree)
  • 2-3 cups chicken stock (or vegetable broth)
  • 1 lb. mixed fresh shellfish, shells removed (weight after shells removed)
  • 1/4 lb. white fish
  • 2 Tbsp. fresh-squeezed lemon juice
  • Crusty bread, optional

Swazz some olive oil around in a large pot. Stir in garlic and spices and stir fry until garlic is cooked, but not browned. Stir in wine and let it simmer for awhile. Stir in the tomato puree. Stir in enough stock to give a consistency that you like. Don’t forget the fish will lose some of its water into the pot and make everything a bit runnier than now, so a bit thicker than you like will be best. Let the sauce simmer for ten minutes. Stir in shellfish and white fish. Squeeze lemon juice into the pot. Remove from heat once the fish is cooked through. Serve with crusty bread. Serves 3-4.

Notes: I happen to have a case of canned tomato puree. It is not tomato paste and it is not tomato sauce. It’s a different kind of thing and you will have to make a serious adjustment if you don’t have it. Don’t know, can’t help you, sorry.

I bought a pound of fresh mixed shellfish at a local fish mart. Everything was already shelled. I think the mix was sold especially for making stew. There were squid rings, surimi, small shrimp, bay scallops, clams, mussels, and other things I probably missed. This recipe would work well with shellfish still in the shells, too, just adjust the amounts.