Name: Easy Seafood Stew
Prep time: 10 min
Cook time: 20 min
Total time: 30 min
Ingredients: 1 tablespoon olive oil; 1 onion chopped; 2 very large garlic cloves chopped; 3/4 cup of finely chopped parsley; 2 medium / smallish tomatoes; 2 Tablespoon of tomato paste; 1/2 cup white vermouth or white wine; 1 can of whole baby clams / juice drained and reserved; 1 236ml jar of clam juice; 1 lb shrimp; 0.5 lb cod fillets (227g package frozen, cut into bite-sized pieces); salt; pepper; tabasco

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An quick and easy weeknight meal. White fish, shrimp and clams in a full flavour tomato based broth. This will become a family favourite

Prep Time10

Cook Time20

Total Time30

Servings: servings

Calories: 304kcal

Main Course, Soup and stews

Shrimp, white fish and clams in a simple stew. You can make this meal in about 30 minutes. Perfect for weeknights. Or date night.

Regardless about how I was feeling about fall a couple of weeks ago, we are now in full fall mode. Sure, there is the occasional warm day but the nights are cool, jackets are out of the closet and there will be no more swimming. With fall we are essentially back to 'back to school" meal plans. Warm foods. Soup, stews and other comforting things.

The perfect weeknight seafood stew

This easy seafood stew was a total slam-dunk. The kids loved it. I loved it. The man loved it. Everyone loved it. And let me tell you this is not something that happens very often. Usually someone is just not 100% onboard with a new recipe. But this one -- this one is just perfect. And it was quick. I pulled this off on a Tuesday.

I started with a recipe from SimplyRecipes.com. and made a few minor modifications:

I reduced the olive oil to 1 tablespoon (you might find you need to go as high as 2 tablespoons but I felt the 6 tablespoons the recipe called for totally unnecessary).
And then I added whatever seafood and fish I had on hand. I literally cleaned out the freezer!

This recipe is flexible

I love recipes that are flexible enough to work with what you have. And in my freezer I had a half bag of shrimp and a few cod fillets. I also added a can of whole baby clams. I like the clams but you could easily omit these if you are not a fan.

The clam juice however is essential to flavour. You can find it all by itself (without the clams) in the section of the market where canned salmon and tuna live. (Honestly, I expected it next to the Clamato. I've added a link above so you have an idea of what to look for at the supermarket.)

And then really, all you need is a couple of fresh tomatoes and parsley and you are good to go. Everything else you probably have on hand already.

The result is perfectly cooked fish and seafood in a fragrant and simple broth. Not rich or heavy. Serve with your favourite crusty bread. This will be ready in less than 30 minutes.

How to make this easy seafood stew

Heat olive oil in a large dutch oven or deep saute pan. Add onion and saute until fragrant and tender. Add garlic and parsley. Saute for a bit.
If at any point the onions are sticking to the bottom of the pan add a little of the reserved clam juice or white wine.
Add tomato paste and saute to incorporate it fully into the vegetables. Then add diced tomatoes, clam juice, the wine and the reserved clam juice from the can of clams (just use the lid to drain it into the pot and hold the clams for a few minutes). Bring to a boil. Then reduce to a simmer and simmer for about 10 minutes.
Increase heat to medium-highish and add the cod pieces Cook for a few minutes, then add shrimp and calms (because they cook faster, you want to give the cod a head start).
Stew should be simmering hard (but not violently). Cook until the shrimp are pink. In total, once fish is added, do not simmer for more than 10 minutes to avoid over cooking the cod. Season with salt, pepper and Tabasco. Serve. That is it!

You will be amazed at how fancy this meal feels when you eat it. Serve with a crusty loaf of bread and your favourite wine. Enjoy.

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3.75 from 59 votes