Seafood Stew with Fennel and Saffron

One of the coolest things about cooking is that you can take ingredients that you think might work together, add them up, and create something new and exciting. The more you experiment, the more you learn about different flavors and textures that work together really well.

One such combination that is pretty classic is that of seafood and saffron - the French bouillabaisse, for example, uses a broth flavored with tomatoes and saffron combined with what is classically considered "unsellable" fish (rockfish, angler fish) and various shellfish such as mussels, clams, and whatever else the fishermen in Marseilles could find.

A while back, I decided to try to make my own seafood stew. It uses slightly more common and easier-to-find fish, it's not as soupy as a classic bouillabaisse, and it has potatoes in it, but the flavors are most certainly there. It doesn't hurt that this is a very easy recipe to put together and can be done in half an hour or less! The seafood stock below is great, but you can easily use store bought stock as well. I like the Kitchen Basics brand.

I like to serve this with either fresh bread (with maybe some salted butter or even a slice of good cheese) or toasted bread that you rub a garlic clove over just after taking it out of the oven.

Seafood Stew with Fennel and Saffron

1 yellow onion
2 cloves garlic
1 bulb fennel
3/4 lb small potatoes (new potatoes work well, as do fingerling potatoes)
1 qt seafood stock (recipe below)
1/2 lb firm white fish such as cod or tilapia
1/2 lb salmon filet
1/2 lb shrimps
1/2 cup dry white wine
2 tbsp dry vermouth
1 tbsp Pastis (optional - made with aniseed which has a very similar taste to fennel and will intensify that flavor in the dish)
1 can (14.5 oz) crushed tomatoes
0.2 g (0.007 oz) saffron
olive oil
salt
black pepper

Start by peeling and dicing the onion. Cut the stems off the fennel bulb and slice into very thin strips. Heat two tablespoons of olive oil in a large pot over medium heat. Add the onion, fennel, and half a teaspoon of salt and cook until the onion is translucent. While the onion and fennel are cooking, mince the garlic. Add to the pot together with the saffron and let cook another minute. Slice the potatoes into 1/2-inch thick slices and add to the pot. Cook, stirring frequently, for about two minutes. Add the wine, vermouth, and Pastis (if using) and let cook for about three minutes.

Add the seafood stock and crushed tomatoes and let cook until the potatoes are soft, about 15 minutes. In the meantime, slice the fish into small strips. Peel and devein the shrimps. Once the potatoes are soft, take the pot off the heat and add the seafood. Cover with a lid and let stand for about three minutes or until the fish is cooked through and the shrimps are pink. Add salt and black pepper to taste and serve immediately.

Seafood Stock

4 cups shrimp shells and heads (or crab shells, or lobster shells, or any combination)
1/2 cup white wine
1 yellow onion
1 large carrot
1 stalk celery
2 tbsp tomato paste
2 sprigs of thyme (fresh)
2 bay leaves
10 whole black peppercorns
1 tsp kosher salt
2 quarts filtered water

Turn your oven to 400 degrees F. Roughly chop the onion, carrot, and celery. Place the vegetables and seafood shells in a large roasting pan and cook for 10 minutes. Place the roasted ingredients together with the wine, tomato paste, thyme, bay leaves, peppercorns, and salt in a large stock pot and cover with the water (you may need to use more or less water than listed above, just use enough to cover all the other ingredients). Bring to a simmer over medium heat, but ensure you never let the stock boil. Do not stir the stock at any point. If you do, there's a risk it will turn cloudy, and you want it to be as clear as possible.

Skim off any fat or foam that rises to the surface with a slotted spoon. Let simmer for about 90 minutes, then strain through a sieve, preferably covered with cheese cloth to catch even the smallest pieces. Let cool and either use right away for the stew or store. You can keep the stock in the fridge for up to three days or in the freezer for up to three months.

Guinness Beef Stew

Hi, trusted readers! I have (perhaps foolishly) decided to start writing again. After having some people tell me things like the definition of a "hiatus" and others hint that I should "start food blogging again, or else" (among other thinly-veiled threats), I guess the time has come.

St. Patrick's Day happened fairly recently and we all know what that means: green beer and plenty of it. I didn't actually have any green beer myself, but I did make a shepherd's pie (with ground lamb, of course) and "Irish car bomb" cupcakes for dessert. I had some leftover Guinness from the cupcake making and decided to make one of my favorite meals: a proper stew with lots and lots of alcohol in it. I serve this one with garlic-rubbed toast and a horseradish sour cream. It freezes extremely well and tastes even better after a day or two in the fridge! Just reheat in the microwave or in a pot over low heat.

Note that the Guinness can be replaced by a bottle of good red wine. Just reduce the sugar to one tablespoon.

Guinness Beef Stew

1/4 cup olive oil
3 tbsp butter
1 cup AP flour
2.5 lb beef chuck

24 fl oz of Guinness or other stout
8 thyme sprigs
6 garlic cloves, smashed or minced

2 1/2 cups beef stock, preferably homemade
10 small potatoes
1/2 lb carrots
1 lb white mushrooms
1/2 lb peas (frozen are just fine)
2 cups pearl onions (frozen are actually preferable - peeling pearl onions takes forever)
1 orange's worth of zest
1/4 tsp ground cloves
2 bay leaves
salt
black pepper
sugar

Start by browning the meat. Put the flour and a pinch of salt in a large Ziplock bag. Unless the meat is pre-cut, cut it into 1-to-2-inch pieces. Add all the meat to the bag, close it, and shake until everything is coated. In a large frying pan or heavy-bottomed pot, heat the olive oil and butter over medium-high heat. Brown the beef in batches. You're looking for a nice brown crust, but it doesn't matter if it's cooked through or not.

Once all the meat is browned, bring out your biggest pot and add the beer, beef stock, thyme sprigs, garlic, orange zest, and bay leaves. Bring to a simmer over medium-high heat and continue to simmer, uncovered, for 20 minutes.

Add the meat to the pot and turn the heat down to low. Cover and cook for 2 hours, stirring occasionally.

Meanwhile, scrub and quarter the potatoes, peel and cut the carrots into "coins," and clean and halve the mushrooms. After the two hours are up, add the potatoes, carrots, mushrooms, pearl onions, and 2-3 tablespoons of sugar (more if it tastes a little bitter, but don't overdo it) to the pot. Turn the heat up to medium and leave uncovered for another 30 minutes.

Remove the thyme sprigs (most leaves will have fallen off) and bay leaves, and add the peas to the pot. Salt and pepper to taste and serve immediately.

Horseradish Sour Cream

1/2 cup sour cream
1/4 cup prepared horseradish

Stir the two ingredients together. A dollop of this is awesome with the stew.

Garlic Toast

4 slices of bread
2 garlic cloves
olive oil

Turn your oven to 350 degrees F. Put the bread on a baking sheet without overlapping. Drizzle a little olive oil on each piece. Toast in the oven until golden brown. Peel and halve the garlic cloves. Once the bread has cooled slightly, rub the cut end of the garlic on the side of the toast that you drizzled with olive oil. Serve with the stew.