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Fennel Saffron Italian Fish Stew

Italian Fennel Saffron Fish Stew

Course Entree, Main Course
Cuisine anti inflammatory, antiinflammatory, Comfort Food, fish, hash brown, Japanese, Mediterranean, seafood, Shrimp
Keyword Anti Cancer, Anti Diabetes, Anti Inflammatory, Comfort Food, Dairy Free, Fennel, gluten free, healthy, Italian, Mediterranean, One Pot, Saffron, Seafood, Shellfish, Tomato Sauce
Prep Time 30 minutes
Cook Time 1 hour
Servings 4

Ingredients

  • ¼ cup extra virgin olive oil
  • 2 cups diced leek 1 large or 2 small, whites only
  • 1 cup diced shallot
  • 1 medium fennel bulb cored, diced (reserve fronds for garnish)
  • Pinch of saffron*
  • Zest of one lemon
  • Bay leaf
  • 3 tbsp tomato paste
  • 1 cup Italian parsley leaves packed
  • 1 cup fresh basil leaves packed
  • ¼ tsp pepper flakes
  • ½ tsp fine sea salt
  • 1 cup dry white wine
  • 3 cups fish stock*
  • 28 oz can of crushed tomatoes preferably organic
  • 3 # fish of choice Shown is 1# cod, 1# calamari, 1# wild caught shrimp
  • Two dozen little neck clams scrubbed clean under cool water

Instructions

  1. In a medium pot, sauté leek, shallot, and fennel in olive oil over medium heat until vegetables begin to soften, about 5 minutes
  2. Stir in saffron, lemon zest, and bay leaf
  3. Stir in tomato paste and sauté until vegetables begin to caramelize
  4. Stir in Italian parsley leaves, basil, pepper flakes, sea salt, and sauté 3 minutes, stirring frequently
  5. Deglaze the pan with white wine and fish stock
  6. Add crushed tomatoes, and simmer covered over medium heat for 30 minutes, stirring occasionally
  7. Using an immersion blender, grind saffron fennel sauce to break up bits of vegetables, but leaving a little texture to the sauce
  8. Taste, and adjust for seasonings
  9. You can cool and store in the refrigerator at this point until you are ready to cook the fish and serve, or continue to next steps
  10. Add fish in order of cooking time, with longer cooking fish going in first
  11. Drop in cod and fold sauce over cod pieces, allow to simmer 3 minutes
  12. Add shrimp, simmer one minute
  13. Add clams, slimmer until they open, gently stirring occasionally, and discard any that do not open
  14. Drop in calamari in last two minutes of cooking time, and gently heat through
  15. Taste sauce, and adjust for seasonings
  16. Options for service: Family style on a deep platter, over pasta, with hot crusty bread, accoutrements like pepper flakes, grated Parmigiano Reggiano, lemon wedges, topped with a fennel frond garnish

Recipe Notes

*Fish stock can be purchased in grocery markets, or you can use clam juice, found in the canned seafood section. I boil shrimp shells to make my own stock and freeze for future use, but a bottle of clam juice is fine also
*Saffron is expensive, but a little goes a long way - See the notes in this blog for usage