Fish is a good lowfat source of protein and rich in healthy omega-3 fats – yet I still don’t meet the 2 servings recommendation most weeks. I forget about this delicious soup/stew that makes it easy to eat fish.
In fact, when I made this last weekend, Bill told me I could make it any time! I don’t often serve bread with meals, but I do with this soup since it doesn’t contain much starch. You could also serve it over brown rice.
Speaking of bread, there is a good alternative to using a loaf and risking eating the whole thing. Food For Life makes a delicious 100% whole grain English Muffin. They call it flourless because the whole grains are sprouted but not ground into flour. I keep them in the freezer so it is easy to get a single serving as needed.
Like most soups and stews, this is a forgiving recipe. Add more veggies or leave them out. Change the fish, use red wine instead of white, or leave it out. It’s all good.
I don’t tend to make my fish stews with mussels and clams because I don’t like the mess, but if you enjoy those this is a great base for them.
Seafood Stew
¼ pound shelled shrimp
¼ pound scallops
½ pound cod fillet, cut into cubes
Can use other types of fish or shellfish
3 garlic cloves
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
1 large onion, chopped
1 carrot, finely chopped
1 rib celery, finely chopped
1 fennel bulb, halved, tough core removed and thinly sliced (optional)
1 large yellow bell pepper, cut into strips (3 x ¼ in)
2 teaspoons flour (I used oat flour)
1 tablespoon tomato paste
1 cup bottled clam juice
1 (28oz) can chopped tomatoes in juice
1/2 cup dry vermouth or dry white wine
¼ + teaspoon dried red pepper flakes (or 1 jalapeño pepper)
½ cup chopped fresh herbs (parsley, basil, thyme, oregano)
½ teaspoon fennel seed
Freshly ground black pepper
In a small bowl toss the seafood with garlic and ½ tablespoon of oil. Let stand while preparing the stew. I like to use small shrimp and scallops, and when I get large scallops I quarter them, but you can have large pieces if you prefer.
In a soup pot cook onion, carrots, celery and fennel in the remaining 1 ½ tablespoons olive oil (confession: I don’t measure, I just splash) over medium heat, stirring, until soft. Stir in flour and tomato paste and cook over moderately low heat, stirring, 3 minutes. Add broth and continue stirring until mixture is slightly thickened. Stir in tomatoes and juice, wine and seasonings (add half the fresh herbs now and the other half right before serving). Simmer 10 – 30 minutes.
Adjust the seasoning, add the seafood and simmer 5 minutes until seafood is just cooked.
Find more nutrition information, my Mindful Eating CD, and my monthly newsletter on my website: http://healthyhabitscoach.com.
Eat well!
More and more I am reading about the horrors of fish and seafood.
Surely there must be an option to sub something for them?
It is true that we need to pay attention to which fish we choose, and choose sustainable ones. There are a couple of good lists available online -Oceans Alive is one good source, and when I googled it, I arrived here: http://www.edf.org/page.cfm?tagID=1521.
The other option is fish oil supplements. These are often made from the byproducts of fish that would be tossed out anyway (if I understand correctly – I asked about the sustainabilty of fish oil at a conference). I’ve blogged that some brands don’t use good practices, but most do. It makes a compelling reason to buy good brands: https://healthyhabitscoach.wordpress.com/?s=menhadens