This classic San Francisco seafood stew can be made with whatever is handy and fresh. It should be served with a nice crusty bread, preferably sourdough. The original recipe is from Food Network.
The general idea is to build the stew base, then chuck in whatever seafood you have in stages, so they all finish at the same time.
Stew Base
1 1/2 cups onion, finely diced
2 tbsp minced garlic
1/4 cup tomato paste
1 cup dry white wine
2 1/2 lbs tomatoes, chopped
1 red bell pepper, diced
1 tbsp minced thyme
1 bay leaf
3 cups fish stock
Stew
one dozen manilla clams
one dozen mussels
1 lobster (or a crab)
1 handful squid, cut into pieces
1 handful scallops
1/4 cup basil leaves, julienned
Make the Stew:
In a large pan, soften the onions (about 10 minutes). Cook the garlic for a couple more minutes. Add the tomato paste and cook for a minute. Deglaze with wine and reduce by half. Add the tomatoes, peppers, and herbs (except for the basil). Simmer for 5 minutes. Add broth and simmer for 30 minutes.
At this stage you can refrigerate or freeze the stew base.
Boil the lobster, pull out the claw and leg meat. Cut the tail in half.
Bring the base to a simmer. Add the basil and clams. Cover and cook until the clams open (about 5 minutes). Add the lobster and mussels, stirring frequently until the mussels open, 2-3 minutes.
Cut and stir in the basil. Ladle the stew onto plates and serve with crusty bread (preferably sour-dough).
