Thursday, August 2, 2012

Expensive Diet Continued... Tasty Double Duty Seafood Stew!



When trying to watch her calorie intake my mother would make an amazing codfish dish that was as easy as it was delicious.  I tried to recreate it the other day, but my version came out a bit brothy so I decided to use the leftover broth to create the above seafood stew. The irony of my creation is that I have attempted to make bouillabaisse on several occasions and it never came out as well as I thought it should have.  This dish literally took me 10 minutes to make today and 15-20 minutes the day before.  We were fed two days in a row and there was no guilt since it is incredibly low in fat and calories.  Although I tend to be quite meticulous about ingredients and measurements, this recipe was improvised so I will do my best.  I am not sure that you can mess it up (so long as you don't over cook the seafood) since it is the quality of the ingredients and not the cook, that make this dish shine.  It serves two well, but I am confident that it can serve up to four if you just add extra seafood.  You also may want to add some zucchini (like I did) or serve it over some couscous to make it a heartier dish.

First Meal:

Ingredients:

- 10 oz codfish cut in two pieces
- One 22 oz can of peeled tomatoes
- half a yellow onion sliced
- 4 sliced garlic cloves
- 4 oz of white wine
- 4 oz water
- large bay leaf, or two small ones
- handful of fresh basil
- pinch of oregano
- one tablespoon olive oil
- salt and pepper to taste

Directions

In a saucier or deep saute pan, saute the garlic and sliced onions until soft. Add the wine and cook for a few minutes until reduced a bit.  Add the tomatoes with their juice, the water, oregano and bay leaf. Cook for about 15-20 minutes until the tomatoes start to break down. Mash them with a fork or spatula. Season with salt and pepper to taste.  You can also add chili flakes. Add the basil and codfish. Cook until the fish is opaque and flakes easily.  Serve the fish with a bit of the sauce over mashed potatoes or couscous.  You can also add sliced zucchini in with the fish to get your veggie and protein all in one dish.

Second Meal:

Ingredients:

- Tbs olive oil with a tsp butter
- small fennel bulb, sliced thinly
- remaining tomato sauce from above (or if you prefer you can create the sauce beforehand on the same day and add the fish with the shellfish)
- 4 oz white wine
- 3 oz clam juice
- 6 large shrimp
- 12 clams (scrubbed and cleaned)
- 1/2 lb bay scallops
- tsp chili flakes (optional)
- salt and pepper to taste

Directions:

Melt the butter and the oil in a large pan that has a lid.  Add the chili flakes and fennel. Cook until the fennel is soft.  Add the white wine and clam juice.  Reduce for a minute or two.  Add the tomato sauce (that you made the day, or up to two days before) and heat through. Season to taste. Once hot add the clams and cover.  When the clams start to open add the shrimp and the scallops. Cover again and cook until the shrimp are pink and curled and the clams have opened. Discard any cracked or unopened clams.

I imagine this would be equally good with calamari or mussels.

Serve with crusty bread, over couscous, or on its own.



Enjoy!