Shelly's Recipe

FISH AND SEAFOOD STEW

Category: Stews

3 tbsp vegetable oil
1 leek, sliced
1 medium green bell pepper, coarsely chopped
2 stalks celery, sliced
1 medium carrot, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
3 cups fish stock or chicken broth
1 can (14-1/2 oz) tomatoes, cut-up and undrained
1 tsp Worcestershire sauce
1/2 tsp dried thyme
1/4 tsp dried marjoram
1 bay leaf
1/4 tsp salt (optional)
1/8 tsp black pepper
6 hard-shell clams, scrubbed and soaked
8 oz fish fillets, such as red snapper, halibut or cod, skinned and cut into 1-inch pieces
8 oz medium raw shrimp, peeled and deveined
6 to 8 oz cooked crabmeat,* cleaned
Toasted French bread slices (optional)

Heat oil in Dutch oven or large saucepan over medium heat. Cook and stir leek, bell pepper, celery, carrot and garlic 8 minutes or until vegetables are crisp-tender. Add stock, tomatoes with juice, Worcestershire, thyme, marjoram, bay leaf, salt, if desired, and black pepper. Bring to a boil over high heat. Reduce heat to medium-low; simmer, uncovered, 15 minutes.

Add clams, fish, shrimp and crabmeat to vegetable mixture. Bring to a boil over high heat. Reduce heat to medium-low; cook about 8 minutes or until clams open and fish and shrimp are opaque. Discard bay leaf. Serve stew in bowls (1 clam per serving) with toasted French bread slices, if desired.