Irish Seafood Stew

Servings: 8
Preparation Time: 1 hour

3 tablespoons olive oil
1 large yellow onion, diced (about 1 cup)
2 large red bell peppers, diced (about 2 cups)
2 medium celery ribs, thinly sliced (about 1 cup)
6 medium cloves garlic, minced (about 2 teaspoons)
2 (28-ounce) cans diced tomatoes
1 (6-ounce) can tomato paste
6 8-ounce bottles clam juice
1 ½ cups white wine
2 tablespoons fresh rosemary, chopped
2 tablespoons fresh thyme leaves, chopped
1 tablespoon fresh oregano leaves, chopped
2 tablespoons fresh basil leaves, chopped
2 bay leaves
Salt and freshly ground pepper

1 medium head escarole lettuce, washed, dried and torn into 1-inch pieces, about 4 cups
1 ½ pounds salmon fillet, skinned, cut into 2-inch pieces
1 ½ pound grouper fillet, skinned, cut into 2-inch pieces
16 large sea scallops
1 ½ pounds large uncooked shrimp, peeled and deveined (about 24)
1 ½ pounds small mussels

2 tablespoons fresh parsley leaves, chopped
Garlic croutons

Heat the olive oil in a large Dutch oven over medium high heat.

Add onion, pepper, celery and garlic and cook until soft, about 5 minutes.

Add the canned tomatoes. Stir in the tomato paste.
Stir in the clam juice, white wine, fresh herbs and bay leaves. Reduce heat, simmer uncovered for 5 minutes. Season with salt and pepper.

Use and immersion blender to puree the stew base. Alternatively, you may puree the stew base in a food processor or a blender.)

If the sauce is too thin thicken it by adding a mixture of cornstarch and cold water. Thin a thick sauce by adding more clam juice or chicken stock.

Add the escarole and cook for 5 minutes.

Nestle the salmon, grouper and sea scallops into the stew. Cook for 5 minutes.

Add the shrimp and mussels to the stew. Cook for 5 minutes or until the mussels have opened, the shrimp is opaque and the fish is cooked through.

Ladle the stew into shallow bowls. Garnish with chopped parsley and garlic croutons.