Seafood Stew

Serves 6










3 tablespoons good olive oil
1 1/2 cups chopped yellow onions (2 small)
2 cups large-diced small white potatoes
2 cups chopped fennel (1 large bulb)
2 teaspoons kosher salt
1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
2 cups good white wine
1 (28 ounce) can plum tomatoes, chopped
1 quart Seafood Stock (recipe follows) or store-bought fish stock
1 tablespoon chopped garlic (3 cloves)
1 teaspoon saffron threads
1 pound large shrimp, shelled and deveined (use the shells for the stock)
1 pound each halibut and bass fillets, cut in large chunks
24 mussels, cleaned
3 tablespoons Pernod
1 teaspoon grated orange zest
Toasted baguette slices, buttered and rubbed with garlic

Heat the oil in a Dutch oven or stockpot, add the onions, potatoes, fennel, salt, and pepper, and sauté over medium - low heat for 15 minutes, until the onions begin to brown. Add the wine and scrape up the brown bits with a wooden spoon. Add the tomatoes with their juices, stock, garlic, and saffron to the pot, bring to a boil, then lower the heat and simmer uncovered for 15 minutes, until the potatoes are tender. Add the shrimp, fish, and mussels, bring to a boil, then lower the heat, cover, and cook for 5 minutes. Turn off the heat and allow the pot to sit covered for another 5 minutes. The fish and shrimp should be cooked and the mussels opened. Discard any mussels that don't open. Stir in the Pernod, orange zest, and salt to ¬taste. Serve ladled over one or two slices of toasted baguette.

Grublover comment
I just saw "Barefoot Contessa" cook this on her show. It looked absolutely fantastic and I have to make it! Let me know if you cook it before I do and tell me what it's like... I could almost smell it from the tv mmmmm

Baked seafood with coriander and coconut chutney

Serves 4

12 large prawns
1kg fresh mussels
8 scallops
400g firm white fish

Coriander and coconut chutney
115g flakey coconut
2 teaspoons of coriander seeds - roasted and ground
1 garlic clove
2.5 cm ginger
1 green chilli - seeds removed
1 bunch coriander
100ml coconut cream
Juice 1 lime plus wedges to serve

Preheat oven to 200c

Chutney
Process coriander seeds, garlic ginger and salt. Add chilli and blend. Add coconut to blender, 2/3 of fresh coriander and some coconut milk to make a paste. Stir in coconut milk and lime juice. Season to taste.

Make an envelope for each person with 2 layers of baking paper or an inside layer of baking paper and alfoil on the outside (easier to shape). Share the seafood and chutney between the envelopes. Bake for about 10 minutes or until seafood cooked.

Serve in envelopes on large plate with a lip - be careful when opening that the steam does not burn. there will be quite a lot of delicious juice that will have formed.

Garnish with reserved coriander and lime wedges.

This chutney would also be delicious on a whole baked fish or even just mussels alone.

Grublover comment
This recipe was in the October edition of Delicious magazine. Mum made it for us on Thursday night and it was absolutely delicious. Check out the review at: EveonKeane

Spaghetti alla Vongole

Serves 4










200g Spaghetti (I like to use a linguine or a spaghetti - don’t use a larger one as they are delicate flavours)
500g vongole (clams) washed and cleaned
2 Garlic Cloves, finely chopped
3 large red chilies, seeded and finely chopped
1 hot birds eye chilly (optional) crumbled
1 tbsp parsley, finely chopped
Bottle of white wine 100 mls for the pot the rest for the chef
100 mls extra virgin olive oil

Bring a pot of water to the boil.
Place spaghetti in to cook (only as long as the directions 7 minute spaghetti is a good option)
In a hot pan add half the oil followed by the chilies and garlic cook till garlic is opaque (not brown) Add the clams and 100 mls of white wine. Once the clams are opened toss in parsley.
Drain the cooked spaghetti and add to the clams toss with the remaining oil add a pinch of salt and serve.
Serve with the remaining wine.

Grublover comment
This is a quick and delicious dish and just happens to be my all time favourite. So simple yet so scrumptuous, I cannot avoid ordering it if I see it on a menu.