Ultimate Feast of the Seven Fishes Stew

 We did some minor changes to this as we had 3 fishes we were serving separately. This was absolutely fabulous - definitely would make it again. Served it with crusty rolls to mop up the sauce. Recipe was from Cooking Light. Also because I wanted to assemble as quickly as possible for Christmas dinner with multiple courses I made Step 3 ahead of time - refrigerated and added the juices from step 1 and 2 the night of. 

This was course 3 of 4 - crab cakes with lemon aioli; clams casino; fish stew and then finally whole Branzino which is pictured but elsewhere on blog for recipe.

1/2 pound medium dry-packed scallops 

1/2 pound skinless salmon fillet, cut into 1 1/2-oz. pieces 

1/2 pound white-fleshed fish, cut into 1 1/2-oz. pieces (we omitted because of other courses)

1 tablespoon olive oil 

1/2 cup white wine 

1/2 cup water 

12 littleneck clams, scrubbed (we omitted because of other courses)

1 pound mussels, cleaned

1 ounce canned anchovy fillets, chopped, oil reserved (used a T anchovy paste and 1 T EVOO)

1 medium fennel bulb, cored and sliced, fronds reserved 

4 garlic cloves, chopped 

1 teaspoon orange zest  

(28-oz.) can unsalted crushed San Marzano tomatoes 

1 teaspoon crushed red pepper 

1/2 pound peeled and deveined raw medium shrimp

* add some crusty rolls or bread for serving!

 Step 1 Let scallops, salmon, and fish come to room temperature. Heat oil in a large Dutch oven over medium-high. Add scallops; cook until they develop a golden-brown crust on one side, about 2 minutes. Remove from pan, and set aside. 

Step 2 Add wine, 1/2 cup water, and clams to pan. Cover, increase heat to high, and cook until clams open, 5 to 7 minutes. Transfer clams to a large bowl (discard any unopened clams). Add mussels to pan; cover and cook until they open, 3 to 4 minutes. Turn off heat. Remove mussels; set aside. Pour cooking liquid through a fine-mesh sieve over a bowl; set aside.

Step 3 Add reserved oil from anchovies to pan over medium-high. Add anchovies; cook until dissolved, about 2 minutes. Stir in fennel; cook until tender, 5 minutes. Add garlic and orange zest; cook 1 minute. Stir in reserved cooking liquid, tomatoes, and crushed red pepper. Reduce heat to medium; simmer, uncovered, until sauce has thickened slightly, 12 to 15 minutes. 

Step 4 Nestle fish and shrimp into broth. Cover and reduce heat to low. Cook until seafood is opaque, 6 to 8 minutes. Add mussels, clams, and scallops, cooked sides up. Heat until warmed through. Top with reserved fennel fronds.