As a kid growing up in Alaska, I learned that seafood was a large part of mom’s menu planning. But if asked which dish was my favorite, I wouldn’t choose the halibut or the salmon—it had to be the seafood stew: A rich tomato base infused with fish broth and chunks of a variety if fishes. My grandpa was a commercial fisherman, and he would always bring home the fish that accidentally got caught up in the nets while fishing for salmon and he was unable to sell at market. This included a wide range of fish, each having their own distinctive flavor, and made eating his fisherman stew a scavenger hunt in a bowl.
In this month’s recipe I have include two of San Juan Island anglers’ most favorite delicacies: fresh ling cod and spot prawns.
San Juan Fisherman Stew
Serves four (12-ounce servings)
Ingredients:
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 leek, thinly sliced into rounds then washed well to remove soil
- 1 red pepper, sliced into ¼” by 3” sticks
- ½ medium onion, julienne ¼”
- 5 garlic cloves finely chopped (during spring time, 4 may be enough as garlic is stronger)
- 1 baby fennel bulb, sliced thin
- ½ cup white wine
- 2 large tomatoes, seeded and cut into ½” pieces
- ½ cup tomato sauce
- 2 teaspoons fresh thyme leaves, finely chopped
- 7-9 saffron threads
- 1 large orange peel (try to get mostly orange peel and avoid the white pith)
- 4 cups seafood stock (recipe follows)
- 1 lb. Ling cod, cut into 4 thick steaks, skinless (may substitute any ground fish)
- 1 lb. Clams or mussels, cleaned and scrubbed well
- 1 lb. Spot prawns, peeled and deveined, leaving tails attached (may substitute large shrimp)
- 1 crusty baguette, sliced into 4” to 3” rounds (one round for each bowl)
- ¼ cup parsley, finely chopped
Directions
In a saucepan over medium-high heat, add olive oil and heat until hot. Add leeks, red pepper, onion, garlic, and fennel. Sauté vegetables until soft. Deglaze pan with white wine, then reduce heat to medium.
Add tomatoes, tomato sauce, fresh thyme, saffron, and orange peel and bring to a simmer. Cook for five minutes to open up flavors. Add prepared seafood stock and continue cooking at a simmer for 10 minutes.
Meanwhile, in a two-quart saucepan over medium heat, add enough water to fill the pan to about 3” deep. Squeeze the juice from half a lemon into water. When water reaches a slow simmer at about 220˚F, add ling cod. Slowly cook cod to an internal temperature of 135˚F. To ensure that your cod is cooked perfectly, use a probe-type thermometer and insert into the middle of the cod steak. When cooked, remove from water and place on a plate, loosely covered with foil.
Return to the seafood-tomato mixture and add clams or mussels. Cover pan with a lid and cook the clams/mussels until the shells open. After all the shells have opened, remove from the sauce and add the clams/mussels to the cooked ling cod under the foil. Now add the shrimp to the simmering tomato broth. This will not take very long. As the prawns cook, they slowly turn pink and start to curl—this is the time to pull them out of the sauce and add to the cod and mussels under the foil.
Add half of the parsley to the seafood sauce.
Warm four large bowls in the oven until warm. Place a baguette slice in the center of each bowl then top with the ling cod followed by the clam/mussels and prawns cascading over the cod onto the bottom of bowl. Divide the sauce into four equal amounts and pour over the seafood, then garnish with fresh parsley. Serve immediately.
Spot Prawn and Fish Stock
Makes 6 cups
Notes: From the catch of the day, reserve the ling cod bones for a delicious stock. Also use the leftovers from caught spot prawns. After working hard separating the shell from the tail meat, it seems like such a waste to toss the shells in the garbage, but now there is a use. Shrimp stock is easy to make and can add amazing flavor to shrimp sauté and pasta dishes, as well as making an excellent soup. Shrimp shells can be packed tightly in resalable bags and frozen to be used later.
Ingredients:
- Shrimp heads and shells from 1 lb. of shrimp
- Bones, skin, and fins removed from 1 ling cod
- ½ cup vegetable oil
- ½ cup garlic, peeled cloves
- 4 quarts water or chicken stock
Directions
In a stockpot over medium heat, add oil. When hot, add garlic cloves and sauté until lightly browned. Add the shrimp heads, shells, and ling cod bones and shells in the hot oil until aromatic (when the smell of fresh shrimp begins to fill your kitchen).
Add the water or chicken stock to the fried shells, bones, and garlic. Bring to a boil and reduce to simmer for 45 minutes.
Strain fish stock into a saucepan and discard shells and bones.
Note: Seafood stocks do not last more than 12 hours with refrigeration. If you intend to make in advance, freeze the seafood stock until ready to use.
