I selected wild caught seafood for this recipe. Most of the time is spent cleaning the seafood. I suggest doing that a day ahead of time. It actually comes together very quickly once the seafood is prepared, and the stock is finished. The clams and mussels were steamed and cleaned. The shrimp was deveined with the head and back fin left on. The crab was already cooked when I got it and just needed to be shelled.
Prep Time1 hourhr30 minutesmins
Cook Time20 minutesmins
Stock time1 hourhr
Servings: 2people
Author: Snap Pea Sheep
Cost: $65
Equipment
6 QT Stickpot I actually used two pots.
Lobster cracker
Streamer
metal colander Ideally this should fit over the stockpot and the lid can sit on it.
Ingredients
Stock
3qtswaterEnough to cover everything
1Large carrot
1Onion
3Stalks celery
1Stem of fennel bulb
2Bay leaves
5garlic cloves
1tspHerbes De Province
Parsley stems, fennel frondsIf available, use them to impart flavor.
Cleaned crab and shrimp shellsWhatever you have available. Clams and mussels can be gritty so don't use them in the stock.
Seafood
8-9MusselsI found frozen cooked mussels, so I only had to clean them,
6Cherry stone clamsTry to get all the same size, don't accept any that are open or have cracked shells.
8-9Wild shrimp 9-12 or colossal
1/2LbShelled sea scallopsMay be previously frozen
8ozWild cod or halibutAny fleshy white fish
1-2Wild snow crab cluster
Soup
18 ozDice tomatoesI use the whole jar of Jovial tomatoes.
4ozTomato paste
Strained stockThe stock will cook down based on cooking time. Use what you have.
1CupSauvignon Blanc or Pinot noirRed or white wine to preference. Do not use "cooking wine".. Optional.
WaterWater or purchased broth as needed to cover the vegetables. A trick is to pour it over the stock ingredients and use the strained water.
1Red bell pepperI used 1/2 red and 1/2 yellow.
2TbspFresh oreganoor 1/2 tsp dried.
2TspFresh Thymeor 1/4 tsp dried thyme
1TbspOld Bay Seasoning
4Cloves garlic, minced
1/2TbspCalabrian chiliOptional. May also use cayenne or red pepper to taste.
1TspFennel seeds
1/2TspBlack peppercorns
Himalayan salt to tasteTaste after all seafood is added and add salt to your preference.
1/4CupFresh parsley, chopped.for garnish
2SlicesPreserved lemon (rinsed) or lemon.
1Clovegarlic, minced.
Instructions
Stock
Clean the vegetables but there is no need to peel them.
Cut the fuzzy root from the onion and rough chop into 6 or 8 pieces. Skin ok.
Place vegetables, spices, shells and water in a large stock pot and turn on medium high heat. Once it comes to a boil, turn it down to simmer. Let the stock sinner for 30 minutes to an hour while doing other things. You can add the shells halfway through the cooking process if they are not available,
Turn off the heat after an hour and let it cool. It is easier to strain when it is not boiling hot.
When the stock has cooled enough to handle. Place a colander over a large stock pot and ladle the vegetables into it. When it gets closer to the bottom, pour the rest of the contents into the colander. Let the liquid drain into the pot. use a spoon to turn over the vegetables to get any trapped liquid.
Seafood
All seafood must be cleaned and ready to add to the pot. Keep seafood in water with ice while preparing other seafood.
Wash clams with a brush on the outside. Place clams in a bowl of cold water for about 1/2 hour. Depending on size, they will need to steam for 5-7 minutes until they open. Do not overcook. Discard any that do not open within 1-2 minutes of the last one. As each open, remove them from the steam and place in cold water.
Once the clams have cooked and are cool enough to touch, coax them open enough to snip them away from the shell. Flood the clam with water to remove any grit. Rinse the shells very well. Almost every recipe says to cook the clams in the broth. It is very difficult to remove the grit so don't do it in the broth.
Mussels follow the same instructions as the clams but take a shorter time to cook. About 3-5 minutes. The mussels should be cut away from the back hinge of the shell.
put clams and mussels in cool water until time to assemble the soup.
Use a lobster cracker to remove shells from the crab. Ideally you did this first so you could add the shells to the stock.Bend each leg in the middle, then at the hinge to get the meat out easier. Place in icy cold water until ready to assemble soup.
The cod should be fileted and clean. Rinse and cut into large chunks - or two portions. Place in icy cold water until ready to assemble soup.
Rinse and pat dry the scallops. They can be placed in the refrigerator until ready to assemble the soup.
Soup
Make the gremolata: Chop parsley, garlic clove and lemon together. Set aside for garnish.
Peel and dice onion. Add to strained stock.
Dice peppers and add to stock.
Add tomato paste and diced tomatoes (with liquid) to the stock.
Add seasoning and herbs (except parsley) to stock.
Add wine to the soup so it can cook down. Red imparts a richer flavor than white. It is your choice.
Heat the stock and vegetables over medium heat. Once the onions are getting soft and translucent, add shrimp and scallops to the stock, place a colander with the clams and mussels over the stock pot and put the lid over. This should not be more than 3-4 minutes. Turn up the heat to get the soup very hot.
Be prepared to plate. This is dinner so 2.5 qt bowls are best.
Place crab and cod in the bottom of two large soup bowls. Quickly ladle the shrimp and scallops into the bowl and ladle the soup over the seafood. Arrange the clams and mussels on top and ladle on more of the soup broth.The heat from the soup broth will cook the cod and warm the crab.
Top each with the gremolata. Serve with garlic bread, crusty bread or sour dough.
Notes
This is a Snappy Sheep recipe.This was my first time making this dish. I adapted an authentic San Franciso recipe to my taste. Basically, I omitted the butter and oil, added Old Bay and Calabrian chili. I also wanted some vegetables, so I added the peppers and onions. I regretted not adding the cook carrots from my stock but in retrospect would have diced a carrot and some celery to add to the dish. The original recipe also called to chunks of fennel bulb, but I opted for fennel seed. Fennel, as well as star anise can quickly overpower a dish and one or both may be called for, The dish seemed to be screaming for potatoes but there was a lot going on with the seafood. I left head and tail on my deveined shrimp for presentation. It was messy to eat them, Feel free to shell them completely. Frankly, I overcooked the clams and they were gritty despite my cleaning of them. If you do not know how to prepare them properly, leave them oot. They don't lend that much to the dish. The only mussels I could find that were not farm raised were precooked and frozen. I only had to wash them and de-beard them. (Cut them away from the shell). I just let them get a minute or two of the soup steam and then finish heating from the soup broth.My cod was cut into 1" pieces and cooked just find from the heat of the soup, it takes about 3-4 minutes. If you have a large piece, you can add it in with the shrimp and scallops. It's just a lot to fish back out after 3-4 minutes.