Check in: how are we doing on our New Year’s resolutions? One of my goals for 2019 was to continue to focus on the quality of food I’m purchasing and serving my family. As a first step, last year I signed up for two services that deliver grass-fed/finished beef and organic chicken, and wild caught seafood right to our house.
Diver scallops delivered to my doorstep – what a time to be alive!
Anyway, last weekend we got hit with snomageddon round 4 (or was it 5? I’ve lost track – GAHHH!) and I was craving something really, really warm and hearty. With a freezer full of seafood, I decided to thaw a few portions then let them star in a delicious Seafood Stew. This simply, hearty stew tastes slow-cooked but doesn’t take all day to make, plus its full of kitchen staples like stock, garlic, dried herbs, potatoes, and canned tomatoes, so I didn’t have to go out into said snomageddon for the ingredients.
Not only am I feeling warm and fuzzy about the wild-caught seafood contained in this stew, but the broth it’s swimming around in is pumped up and flavored by Red Gold Tomatoes, whom this post is sponsored by!
I’ve been using Red Gold Tomato products over the past year (worked with them on a few TV cooking spots in 2018 – so fun!) and am a mega fan. The tomatoes used in Red Gold’s products are sustainably grown by family farms in the Midwest and have zero “canned” flavor. You know what you usually have to do when using canned tomatoes? Add sugar to mask that tinny taste, which I’ve never had to do with Red Gold tomatoes. They all taste really fresh which, if I’m going to splurge by using fresh seafood in a stew, I do NOT want to be bringing it down with inferior ingredients.
Red Gold asked me to conduct a little experiment at home to see the difference in quality between their products – whole canned tomatoes in this case – versus another leading brand. Red Gold is on the left while the other brand is on the right.
You can absolutely see the difference between the two! Isn’t that cool!?
Lastly, I have to applaud Red Gold for offering ALL their tomato products as gluten-free. One of the other leading canned tomato brands offers SOME of their products gluten-free, which is so confusing and obnoxious. I really appreciate Red Gold for being a “one stop shop”, if you will, for canned tomato products.
Now, back to this stew. I used jumbo gulf shrimp, scallops that I sliced in half widthwise, and cubed halibut, though you could use whatever fish/shellfish your family likes. Squid rings, branzino, mussels or clams could all work equally as well. I especially love the scallops in here. I went back after my third (!!) bowl hoping to fish some more out (see what I did there,) but tragically they had all been eaten. By myself. SO GOOD!
Start by melting 4 Tablespoons butter with a drizzle of extra virgin olive oil in a large Dutch oven or soup pot over medium heat. Add 2 small or 1 large sliced leek plus 1 chopped shallot, season with salt and pepper, then saute until the leeks are tender, 15 minutes. Add 4 cloves minced garlic then saute until very fragrant, 2-3 more minutes.
Next add a 14.5oz can Red Gold Diced Tomatoes with Basil, Garlic & Oregano, a 15oz can Red Gold Crushed Tomatoes, 2-1/2 cups seafood stock (I like Kitchen Basics or Imagine brand), 1 cup chicken stock, 1/2 teaspoon dried thyme, plus 1 bay leaf. Bring to a boil then turn the heat to medium-low and simmer for 10 minutes.
Add 2 cups diced peeled russet potatoes (about 1 medium-sized potato) then partially cover the pot and simmer until the potatoes are tender, 20-30 minutes, stirring occasionally.
Next, we turn to zee seafood. You’ll need 1-1/4lbs seafood so use whatever your family likes best.
I used a combination of scallops sliced in half widthwise, halibut cut into 1” cubes, and peeled and deveined jumbo shrimp. As I mentioned, branzino, salmon, squid, mussels and/or clams would work too.
Once the potatoes are tender, turn the heat up to high to bring the soup to a boil then slide the seafood into the pot with a small handful of finely chopped parsley and simmer for 2-3 minutes. The heat of the pot and broth will continue to cook the seafood after the heat’s been turned off so don’t cook for too long.
Last step is to add a drizzle of fresh lemon juice (I don’t know about you, but I feel seafood is best enjoyed with lemon, butter, and herbs. Check, check, and check!) then scoop into bowls and serve with fresh salads or crispy crostini to soak up that rich and decadent broth – I’ll include an easy crostini recipe in the notes section below. However you serve it, I hope you love this simple, scrumptious stew recipe! Enjoy!
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Easy Seafood Stew
Description
Easy Seafood Stew is packed with wholesome ingredients like vegetables, stock, and seafood. Quick cooking but tastes like its been simmering all day!
Ingredients
- 4 Tablespoons butter or vegan butter
- drizzle extra virgin olive oil
- 2 small or 1 large leek, white and light green parts only, thinly sliced
- 1 shallot, chopped
- salt and pepper
- 4 cloves garlic, pressed or minced
- 14.5oz can Red Gold Diced Tomatoes with Basil, Garlic & Oregano*
- 15oz can Red Gold Crushed Tomatoes
- 2-1/2 cups seafood stock
- 1 cup chicken stock
- 1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
- 1 bay leaf
- 1 medium-sized Russet potato, peeled and chopped (2 cups)
- 1-1/4lb mixed seafood: halibut, scallops, shrimp, salmon, branzino, squid, mussels and/or clams (see notes)
- 1 small handful fresh parsley, finely chopped
- 1/2 lemon
Directions
- Melt butter and extra virgin olive oil in a large Dutch oven or soup pot over medium heat. Add leeks and shallot, season with salt and pepper, then saute until leeks are tender and beginning to turn golden brown, 15 minutes. Add garlic then saute until very fragrant, 2-3 minutes.
- Add Red Gold tomato products, seafood stock, chicken stock, dried thyme, and bay leaf then turn heat up to bring to a bubble. Turn heat back down to medium-low then simmer for 10 minutes. Add potatoes then place a lid partially on top and simmer until potatoes are tender, 20-30 minutes, stirring occasionally. Taste then add salt and pepper if necessary.
- Turn heat to high then, once the stew is bubbling, add the seafood and parsley and cook for 2-3 minutes or until seafood is barely cooked through - remember that the seafood will continue to cook from the heat of the soup/pot, so don’t overcook! Remove pot from heat then add a drizzle of fresh lemon juice (start with a little as you can always add more.) Scoop into bowls then serve immediately.
Notes
- If you prefer petite diced versus regular diced tomatoes, use a pair of kitchen shears to snip the tomatoes in the can after opening.
- I used a combination of scallops sliced in half widthwise, halibut cut into 1” cubes, and peeled/deveined jumbo shrimp.
- For crostini: Slice a gluten-free baguette (or regular baguette if you don’t need to eat GF) into 1/4" slices then brush both sides with extra virgin olive oil and season lightly with salt and pepper. Arrange on a sheet pan then bake at 350 degrees for 5-7 minutes, or until golden brown, flipping slices halfway through. Let cool completely.
This recipe is courtesy of Iowa Girl Eats, http://iowagirleats.com.
This is a GREAT recipe. I used 1/2# shrimp, 1/2# scallops, and 1/3# orange roughy. Easy & delicious not to mention nutritious!
I’m SO glad you loved it, Sue! Thank you so much for your feedback!
very easy and delicious soup. I added some celery and yellow bell pepper at the beginning. For stock, I used Minor’s lobster base. I had some frozen shrimp, crawfish and cod in the house. Will definitely repeat.
Love those additions, Steve! So glad you were able to make this recipe your own. :)
This is a great recipe! Lots of flavor and done in a little over an hour.
I’m so glad you loved it, Rebecca! Thank you so much for your feedback and recipe rating!
I veganized your recipe and it turned out great! Vegan butter, and for the seafood stock I marinated a nori sheet and added 2 kelp capsules as well as I used canned oysters with the brine. I substituted mushrooms and hearts of palm for the seafood but honestly the soup base is so good I wouldn’t even need to do that! Thank you!
Fabulous, Beth!! This sounds so delicious – I’m so glad you loved it!!
What an amazing recipe. Likely one of the best dishes I’ve made.Used Cod, scallop, shrimp and calamari.The depth of flavor is divine. Will absolutely make again.
Perfection! So glad you loved the recipe, Lia!
I absolutely recommend this recipe. It is easy and takes so little time and my kitchen smelled like heaven. I did exactly what the recipe said except for no shallots or leeks. Instead I used one and a half medium yellow onion and used a different good brand of petite chopped and Contadina Roma crushed tomatoes. I cut back on the butter because I used cod, salmon, shrimp a pound of ready to serve clams in butter sauce. It was the best recipe! I am a big fan of Cioppino but I loved this even more. Thank you for sharing.
Excellent – my boys loved it. Used halibut, mussels, shrimp, and bay scallops (smaller, so they don’t need to be cut). Also used small Golden potatoes, sliced in half. Easier prep. Start – finish, 1 hour.
OH MY! This is the epitome of YUMMY! I had to make a few changes because I did not have shallots, a leek or fresh parsley. So, I used 1/2 of
a medium, yellow onion and dried parsley! I used a combo of cod, scallops, shrimp and canned clams. I had crab stock and mixed it with the juice from all of the other seafood. SOOOOO, SOOOO GOOD!
I can’t believe that I’ve lived on the west coast, most of my life and I have never made this before. What’s worse is that my father was a commercial fisherman! Mom never made it, either! I truly missed out, but never again! THIS IS A KEEPER!
This is delicious. I used salmon, shrimp and seafood mix. I will definitely make it again.
Oh. My. Yummy. Goodness. This was even better than the Ciopinni soup we get from Trader Joe’s, but has the same deep flavor. I used white fish and shrimp that I had in the freezer and served with garlic naan. Thanks for the new favorite!
This is absolutely delicious and a total hit in my home! The only think I added was some cajun spice and a pinch of crushed red pepper to heat it up a little
I’m so, so glad to hear it, Sarah! Thank you so much for your feedback and recipe rating!
Hi Kristin! I think this easy seafood stew recipe is more to our liking heat wise, as opposed to that Spicy Shrimp Stew. I will be trying the easy one for sure, but know that lots of your readers like the hotter version. Thanks!
This was amazing! One of the best soups I have made. Loved it!
So how does this reheat? I have some fish in the freezer and would love to make seafood stew!
This stew is definitely best fresh so the seafood doesn’t overcook. That said, you could portion out the broth then cook the seafood fresh each time, if you like!
I’ve never been disappointed in a recipe that you’ve posted, truly. But I do have a question about the use of shallot vs onion – are they interchangeable in recipes? I seem to always have an onion on hand, but not shallots.
I use shallots because onions hurt my husband’s stomach, and the quantity of chopped shallots I get from an average-sized shallot seems to match my cooking better (vs the amount of chopped onion I’d get from an average-sized onion, for example!) That said, you can almost always swap the shallot for onion – usually just 1/2 a regular sized onion to match the quantity you’d get from an average sized shallot!
Hi Kristin, this sounds delicious as always. I’ve never used seafood stock in anything before, so this sounds like a good way to try it. Thanks!
Does Red Gold sell canned tomatoes with “no salt added” in the stores? The other brand that you tested does and this is something that is important to our family because we have to limit our salt intake.
They do! Here are all their products: https://redgoldtomatoes.com/products
This looks delicious but I’m not a tomato chunk fan. I wonder if the consistency would change if I pureed the tomatoes before putting them in. Guess I’ll have to try it.
I have the same preference! I included a note in the recipe card but not the copy – I use a pair of kitchen shears to chop the diced tomatoes up a little bit in the can.
This looks so good! Love your photos. What is your source for the home delivered seafood? Thank you.
Fish Fixe! Here is my affiliate link if you’re interested! :) http://shop.fishfixe.com?rfsn=2054195.de97f7