Oregon Transplant: Seafood Stew

Unbelievably, this is a leftover dish.

Yes, it's true! I had a handful of frozen bay scallops in the freezer, waiting for something to be used in. I had one, lonely cod filet also hanging out in the freezer. And then, after the Ducks won the Rose Bowl (woot woot!), I had leftover shrimp. The last clue to this puzzle? An extra can of clams from making clam dip.

It seems I had all the fixings for something magical. I'd actually earmarked the extra scallops for a seafood stew, just waiting for an opportunity to be combined with other creatures from the sea. Once I had all the other ingredients, I couldn't wait to finally get down to business on this stew. I mean, I've had this idea to make a seafood stew for 6 months now.

It was worth waiting for. The stew is so full of flavor. The hubby remarked that he loved that he could taste all the individual flavors and how they came together. Then again, he pretty much raved over the stew, and gave it his official stamp of approval. It's chock full of vegetables. Onions, carrots, celery, garlic, tomatoes, roasted potatoes... Yep, you read that right. The potatoes are roasted separately and added at the end. I loved this technique, since it gave all the potatoes that tasty, brown coating. The finishing touch? Topping each bowl with crumbled bacon and touch of fresh chopped parsley.

Have I convinced you yet? This stew is amazing.

The recipe makes a fairly large batch of stew, I'd say it would serve 6 people comfortably. I wouldn't feel comfortable freezing this one, due to the sensitive nature of the seafood. I put this back in the fridge for the night, and the hubby and I dined on it again the next night. A couple of lunch-size portions later, the soup was gone. I thought the stew was even better the next day, flavor-wise. The hubby didn't like how much color the stew lost overnight, but agreed the flavor was amazing. Serve with some crusty bread, because you are going to want to sop up every tasty last drop.

If you can resist bacon, you are better than I. Doesn't bacon just make everything better?? :)

It's Friday! I have an extremely busy weekend planned, I definitely won't be around the house much. My niece has her state cheerleading competition in West Virginia that I'm headed to tomorrow, and this promises to be an all day event. I'm excited for her to have such an amazing experience at a young age. On Sunday, one of the hubby's cousin's wives is having a baby shower, so it's off to Cincinnati. Between travel and party time, I'll be gone the whole day.

Yes, it promises to be a very busy weekend for this homebody.

Hopefully, you're all having a wonderful new year so far. Have a great weekend!

Ingredients (serves 5-6):

2 large baking potatoes, peeled and chopped

2 tsp olive oil

2 tsp kosher salt

1 tsp garlic powder

4 strips bacon, chopped

1 medium size onion, chopped

1 large carrot, peeled and chopped

2 stalks of celery, chopped

4 cloves garlic, minced

1 tbsp fresh thyme, minced

1 cup dry red wine (I used a Cabernet Sauvignon)

2 (8 oz) bottles of clam juice

2 (14.5) oz cans of diced tomatoes, undrained

1 cod filet, cut into bite-size pieces (you could substitute any firm white fish such as tilapia, mahi mahi, or halibut)

1/2 lb scallops, chopped

1 (8 oz) can of minced clams, undrained

1/2 lb cooked shrimp, roughly chopped

3 tsp kosher salt

1 1/2 tsp black pepper

1/2 cup fresh parsley, chopped

Directions:

1. Heat oven to 425º. In a large bowl, combine potatoes, olive oil, salt, and garlic powder. Toss to combine. Spray a large cookie sheet with cooking spray, then turn potatoes out onto pan. Shake to ensure potatoes are in a single layer. Bake in preheated oven, stirring occasionally, for 25-40 minutes, or until potatoes are crispy and browned. Remove from oven, set aside.

2. In a large stockpot, fry bacon crumbles until crisp. Remove bacon from pan with a slotted spoon, set aside. Turn the heat down slightly, and add onion, carrot and celery to the bacon grease. Sauté for 5-7 minutes or until vegetables have begun to soften. Add garlic and thyme to the pot. Sauté for 30 seconds to 1 minute, or until garlic begins to brown.

3. Add red wine to the pan. Allow to simmer for 2-3 minutes, or until wine is reduced by half. Add clam juice and canned tomatoes to the pot. Simmer for 10 minutes.

4. Add cod and scallops to the pot, cook for 5 minutes. Add can of clams, shrimp, salt, pepper, and reserved potatoes to the pot. Cook for 1 minute or until all ingredients are warm.

5. Ladle soup into bowls, and top with chopped parsley and reserved bacon. Serve immediately!

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