The Ocean in a Bowl: Seafood Soups and Stews Part 1

There is nothing like a big bowl loaded with seafood soaked in a delicious warm broth, some bread for dipping, and a glass of wine! My personal specialty is Cioppino.  I traditionally celebrate the new year with a big pot of Cioppino.

Fish stock

Fish stock is probably the most important ingredient to all the soups and stews, except maybe wine. Homemade stock is always best, made with fish bones or heads, and even shrimp shells and heads, which I believe makes a wonderfully flavored stock., (my favorite). Like any other stock, add vegetables and seasonings, and simmer for about 1 hour to get the most flavor (fish stock is quick unlike other meats). You can always use store bought stock, there are some very good ones, but homemade adds a unique flavor, and personal touch to any seafood soup or stew. You can add a bit of white wine, but I usually just add that to the soup/stew when I make it. Freeze any extra stock in ice cube trays for later use.    

I am going to start with the fish stock recipe because it is an important ingredient for all the other soups/stews. 

FISH STOCK

Ingredients:

2 tbsp olive oil

Fish bones, fish head and/or shrimp shells and heads (from 1+ lb of shrimp)

2 cups chopped yellow onion

3 stalks chopped celery

2 tblspn minced garlic

½ cup white wine

1 tbsp. Himalayan or sea salt

1 tbsp. fresh ground pepper

10 sprigs fresh thyme including stems

2 tbsp. fresh basil

1 ½ quarts of water

• In a stockpot, heat oil, medium heat. Add onions, celery and shrimp shells (if using them) and sauté for 10 minutes or until lightly browned.
•  Add garlic, sauté for 5 more minutes.
•  Add water, wine, salt, pepper, thyme and basil, bring to boil.
•  Reduce heat to simmer, add fish bones/head and simmer for 1 hour.
•   Turn off and let cool 15 minutes. 
• Strain the solids using a sieve.  Press the solids to get all the juices and flavors out. 
• This should make approx. 1 quart of stock. Any left-over stock not used in your recipe can be frozen in Ice cube trays for future use.

Cioppino

An Italian/American seafood stew, it originated in the American city of San Francisco, California.  The fisherman on the wharf would walk the docks at the end of the day and ask others to contribute seafood for the stew, and being Italian, they were asked to “chip in o”, hence the name.  I once had a bowl of cioppino at the restaurant called Cioppino’s, right on the dock down on Fishermen’s Wharf. Complimented with a bowl of NE Clam Chowder and a flight of wine, it was amazing food and a memorable experience.

I first began making cioppino when I worked as a merchandiser for Pacific Seafood, traveling to different stores, teaching seafood sales to the clerks. Loved that job!  Pac Seafood at that time sold a base for cioppino in a jar, and it was a great starter.  But since I can’t find one anymore, I will make it from scratch. Seafood that I add will include shrimp, clams, mussels, scallops, crab and a white fish such as Cod or Halibut.  And I always add wine, either a Cabernet Sauvignon, or even a nice Chardonnay. 

Cioppino

Base Ingredients:

3 tbsps. Olive oil

1 onion chopped

3 large shallots, chopped

3 tbsps. Minced garlic

2 teaspoons salt

2 teaspoons ground pepper

1 tsp. dried crushed red pepper flakes

2 bay leaves

6 oz tomato paste

1 14.5 Oz can of Italian stewed tomatoes

2 cups red wine, Cabernet Sauvignon is my favorite

4 cups fish stock

Seafood Ingredients:

1 ½ lbs. firm white fish, cod, or halibut

1 lb. peeled and deveined shrimp

3/4 lb. scallops, bay or sea scallops (sea scallops are tastier but you get a lot less)

½ lb. mussels, in shell

1 lb. manilla clams, in shell or what’s available

½ lb. crab meat, Dungeness or king crab is best

6 Crab legs, Snow or Dungeness, cut into two-inch sections

• Heat olive oil in 8 quart stock pot. Sauté onion, shallots, and garlic till tender and slightly brown.  Add Salt, pepper and red pepper flakes.
• Add tomato paste, bay leaves, stewed tomatoes, wine and fish stock to pot.
• Bring to boil then reduce heat to simmer for 1 hour
• Add fish and shrimp to pot, cook for 5 minutes
• Add scallops, mussels and clams, and cover.  Cook for 5 minutes or until shells are all open
• Add crab meat and crab legs, stir soup to thoroughly mix ingredients.
• Turn off heat, cover and let sit 5 minutes.
• Top each bowl with some parmesan cheese to taste.
• Serve with garlic bread and enjoy!

Bouillabaisse

Bouillabaisse is the French version of Cioppino, with several different vegetables and seasonings in the recipe including the addition of Saffron threads. This soup has a similar history though.  Fishermen on the boats would collect what was not sold from the days catch and cooked it up to make this delicious soup. Cod was the main seafood ingredient along with clams, mussels, squid or anything else left over at the end of the day. French bread with rouille completes the dish.  I add a nice red wine, a Merlot or Cab.

Bouillabaisse:

3 pounds of at least 3 different kinds of fish fillets (such as sea bass, red snapper, halibut, cod,), cut into 2-inch pieces

1-pound mussels and/or clams

1 pound squid and/or crab

1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil

1 cup onions, thinly sliced

2 leeks, white and light green parts only, thinly sliced

1 teaspoon fennel seeds

2 tbsp. minced garlic

1 14.5 can stewed tomatoes

1 bay leaf

3 sprigs fresh thyme

1/2 teaspoon saffron threads

2 teaspoons salt

1 long, wide strip orange zest

1 cup boiling water

1 cup fish stock

1 cup red wine, Merlot recommended

1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

Heat 1/4 cup of olive oil in a large (6-8 quart) pot on medium high heat. When the oil is hot, add the onions, leeks, and fennel. Stir to coat the vegetables with the olive oil. Cook on medium heat until softened but not browned, about 10 minutes.

Add the minced garlic, stewed tomatoes, bay leaf, thyme, saffron, salt, and orange zest.

Stir and cook until the tomatoes are soft and broken down.

Bring 2 cups of water to a boil. Lay the fish pieces over the vegetable mixture and pour over with 1 cup of boiling water.

Add fish stock and wine. Bring everything to a boil, reduce to a simmer, and cook, uncovered, for about 5 minutes

Add the mussels, squid, and/or crab, pushing aside the fish so that the shellfish is now covered in liquid, and simmer for 5 minutes more, covered.

Add freshly ground black pepper, and more salt to taste. Remove the bay leaves, thyme sprigs, and orange zest from the broth.

Serve with a French bread topped with rouille.

Recipe for rouille, prepare ahead

1 tablespoon hot fish stock or clam broth

2 tbsp. Minced garlic

2 tbsp. red pepper flakes

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/4 cup soft white bread, pulled into bits

1/2 cup olive oil

• Put the hot fish stock or clam broth into the bottom of a blender. Add the garlic and red hot pepper, salt and bread. Blend until very smooth. With the blender still running, add olive oil slowly and stop the blending as soon as the oil disappears.

 Manhattan Clam Chowder

Manhattan style is different from New England because it has a tomato base with no cream, similiar to Cioppino. It also has more vegetables added, like carrots and green peppers. I once attended a cooking class in Astoria Oregon to learn how to cook razor clams, popular on the Oregon and Washington beaches, but choice of clam can be your choice or subject to availability.  I just prefer bigger clams.  I will add clams at the last minute, so they don’t overcook and become rubbery.  If you want to simmer your stew for hours, then it is ok to add early in the cooking process, they will be tender then. It is either very quick last minute or for very long simmer.  I will add a small amount of Cabernet Sauvignon. Its earthy flavor compliments this type of chowder.

Funny story I found in the urban dictionary, can’t validate the fact but it is interesting!  As of 2015 it was illegal to add tomatoes to clam chowder in Massachusetts, they are very proud of their New England style, so that is why the tomato base must be Manhattan style, or sometimes referred to as New York style.

Spicy Manhattan Clam Chowder

2 14.5 Oz can for Italian stewed tomatoes

2 cups diced red potatoes

1 cup diced onion

2 carrots chopped or shredded

1 green bell pepper chopped

1 red bell pepper chopped

3 stalks celery chopped

2 jalapeno peppers, chopped

3 cups fish stock

1 cup red wine

1 cube beef bouillon

1 tsp thyme leaves

1 tsp chili powder

½ tsp ground pepper

½ tsp sea salt

1 bay leaf

3 cans of whole or chopped clams

1 cup half and half

2 tbsps. flour

1 lb in shell clams

Combine Italian-style tomatoes, potatoes, onions, carrots, green bell pepper, red bell pepper, celery, and jalapeno peppers in a large stockpot.

Bring fish stock and wine to a boil in a small saucepan. Stir in beef bouillon cubes until dissolved. Pour over tomato mixture in the stockpot.

Add thyme leaves, chili powder, garlic salt, black pepper, and bay leaf into the stockpot. Cook chowder, stirring occasionally, until potatoes are very tender, about 30 minutes.

Combine canned clams, milk, and flour in a separate saucepan; cook and stir over low heat until clams are heated through, about 5 minutes. Stir into the stockpot and simmer to combine flavors, about 10 minutes.

Add in shell clams, cover, and simmer 5 minutes until clams are open.

Top with croutons.

Up next will be Part 2, the creamy seafood soups! New England Clam chowder, Bisques, Oyster Stew, etc. And as always, you have any variations of the recipes you would like to share please do in the comments. I do love trying new and different things!!

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