This beloved San Francisco fish stew will look familiar to anyone who’s dined on the Tuscan coast, and it isn’t a million miles away from bouillabaisse, either – though, unlike that French classic, it’s easily adapted to the species available in our own waters. Richly tomatoey, with a distinctly Italian-American hand with the garlic and herbs, it’s a seafood showstopper without much fuss.
Prep 25 min
Cook 1 hr 10 min
Serves 4
For the sauce
1 onion
1 red pepper
5 garlic cloves
3 tbsp olive oil
Salt
1 tbsp dried oregano
1 bay leaf
½ tsp chilli flakes
50g tomato puree
100ml dry white vermouth, or wine
2 x 400g tins chopped tomatoes
Sourdough, to serve
For the seafood
8 large raw shell-on prawns, or 4 langoustines
2 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil, plus extra to serve
12 live mussels (about 160g), cleaned
200g white fish fillet
A few fresh thyme sprigs
2 small brown crabs, cut in half (ask a fishmonger to do this, if need be)
400g live clams
4 scallops
1 small bunch flat-leaf parsley, finely chopped, to serve
1 A note on the seafood
Apart from the prawns, which you need to make the stock, take the seafood listed in the ingredients as merely a suggestion, and choose your own mix to suit taste and pocket (in truth, you could even skip the prawns, too, and use 400ml ready-made fish stock instead). You’ll need to adjust the cooking times accordingly, especially if you use precooked crab, which should be added just at the end to warm through.
2 Prepare the soup base
Peel and finely chop the onion, trim and finely dice the pepper, and peel and crush the garlic. Set aside separately while you heat the olive oil in a large saucepan on a medium-low heat. Add the onion and a pinch of salt, and saute, stirring from time to time, until it begins to soften.
3 Saute the pepper and garlic
Add the diced pepper, and continue to fry, stirring occasionally, until it and the onion are soft but not coloured. Tip in the crushed garlic, oregano, bay leaf and chilli, then fry, stirring so the garlic doesn’t catch and burn, for a couple of minutes longer.
4 Add the tomato and wine
Add the tomato puree and wine, stirring so the puree dissolves, then tip in the tinned tomatoes. Fill one of the now empty tins with water, swirl it around to rinse out the tin, then pour into the second tin and repeat. Add this tomatoey liquid to the pan.
5 Simmer until thickened
Bring to a boil, then turn down the heat and simmer gently for about 45 minutes, until the mix has the consistency of a thick soup, rather than a chunky sauce (judge when it’s ready by the texture rather than by the time taken, because much will depend on the width of your pan and the strength of your hob). Season to taste.
6 Now for the stock
Meanwhile, shell the prawns, setting aside the meat for now. Heat the oil in a largish saucepan on a medium heat (if you’re using your only large pan for the sauce, wait until that is ready, then decant it into a bowl and use the same pan for the stock). Fry the prawn heads and tails in the oil for a few minutes, until they turn a vivid pink.
7 Finish the stock
Pour 800ml water into the prawn head pan, stir to combine, bring to a boil, then simmer for 30 minutes. Strain the stock, discarding the prawn shells – you should have about 400ml stock (if not, make it up with water). Note that you can make the recipe up to this point a day ahead of serving; if you do so, refrigerate the sauce and the stock until you’re ready to eat.
8 Prepare the seafood
Pull the beards off the mussels and devein the prawns. Remove the skin from the fish fillet, if necessary, and cut the flesh into large chunks. Combine the sauce and stock in your largest saucepan, add the leaves from the thyme sprigs and bring to a simmer. Add the crabs, if using raw ones, cover and cook for five minutes.
9 Finishing touches
Add the clams and mussels to the pot, cover and cook for another three minutes. Finally, add the scallops, prawns and fish, cover again and cook for three to five minutes, until they’re opaque and all the mussels and clams have opened (discard any that do not). Adjust the seasoning to taste, if need be, then divide between bowls, top with the parsley and extra olive oil, and serve with the sourdough.
