GOOD BEACH DAY - Mediterranean Seafood Stew

Great day for the beach and the Sunday crowds will prove it. The sky is blue, the ocean flat and the Hollywood Broadwalk is crowded with strollers and cyclers, both. There is still plenty of room on the sand and the tide is up at midday to make swimming easy.

HEALTH HINT

Occasional Smokers: The arteries of even social smokers are 35% less responsive to changes in blood flow, especially during exercise, than non-smokers. This increases the risk of heart disease. Enjoy a day at the beach without clouding it up with unnecessary smoke.

Mediterranean Seafood Stew

A delicious medley of fish fillets and shellfish in a vegetable stew. A lot of ingredients and very easy to prepare

Ingredients

Fresh Clams – 8

Fresh Mussels – 8

Shrimp – peeled – 1 pound

Tuna fillet – ¾” thick

Salmon filet – ½ “ thickHalibut fillet – ½” thick

Idaho potato – cut into ½” pieces

Fresh corn on cob – sliced off in 2 “ pieces

Shallots – chopped – ½ cupCelery – chopped – 1 cup

Fennel, white bulb – chopped – 1 cup

Tomatoes 1 28 oz. can – diced

White wine – 1 ½ cups (or 1 cup of Vermouth)

Clam juice – 3 cups

Tomato paste – 2 oz or 3 oz

Chili Stuff Mumbo Gumbo Mix – 2 tsp ---- link www.chilistuff.net

Rosemary, ground – 1 tsp

Bay, ground - 1 tsp

Fennel, ground – 1 TBL

The ground herbs are more potent and hold up better under cooking, They become part of the stew and don’t need to be removed like a bouquet.

Prep everything ahead and the cooking is simple.Use a big deep pot (2 gallons at least) at medium heat.Pour in some olive oil and start with the shallots, fennel & celery. They should get shiny and soften in about 5 minutes.

Add the Tomatoes, white wine, clam juice and tomato paste and blend.

Now add the Mumbo Gumbo Mix and other seasonings.

Add the potatoes and after about 10 minutes add the corn.

Now put the clams into this vegetable base.As soon as they open up remove them to a side bowl,Repeat this step with the mussels.

While these are cooking you can slice your fish fillets into 1 ½ “ pieces.As soon as the mussels are out of the stew, put in all your fish and cook for about 5 minutes.

Return shell fish to pot and add the shrimp and cook until the shrimp start to turn pink (about 2 minutes).

Turn down the heat and ladle the stew out into bowls.