This summery Mediterranean-inspired Seafood Stew recipe highlights a light, flavorful tomato-fennel broth with fresh fish, seafood, and optional chorizo. Easy and delicious!
What is not given is lost.
Ghandi
This Seafood Stew is light, summery, and full of Mediterranean flavor! The fennel-tomato broth makes for a delicious base, landing somewhere between a French Boullabasie and an Italian Cioppino. Caramelized fennel adds a subtle sweetness, fresh tomatoes add tanginess, while chorizo (or soy chorizo) kicks up the flavor by adding the perfect touch of smoky spice and heartiness. Serve this with crusty bread to mop up all the juices for the perfect dinner. If opting for gluten-free, try adding cannellini beans for a little extra heartiness instead of the bread.
Why You Love This Seafood Stew
- Incredible Flavor! The rich, robust broth is infused with a combination of aromatic herbs and spices that perfectly complement the freshness of the seafood.
- Nutrient-Rich! A healthy meal full of essential nutrients like Omega-3 fatty acids and protein.
- Versatile and Easy to Make! Customized with your favorite seafood and vegetables, simple to prepare, perfect for both weeknight dinners and special occasions. The flavorful broth can be made up to 3 days ahead.
Seafood Stew Recipe Ingredients
- Seafood: Use firm fish like halibut, tilapia, mahi mahi, or salmon, mussels, prawns. These types of fish and shellfish hold up well when cooked in a stew, ensuring they remain intact and contribute to the rich texture.
- Chorizo: This optional addition adds depth and smoky heat to the stew. Mexican chorizo and Spanish chorizo both work well here. Or sub a pinch of smoked paprika!
- Onion and Garlic: These aromatic ingredients infuse the stew with a deep, savory flavor.
- Fresh fennel: Its subtly sweet and licorice-like flavor adds a unique depth to the aromatic base of the stew.
- Tomatoes: Fresh tomatoes bring brightness and acidity to balance the dish.
- Broth: A combination of tomato paste, white wine, chicken stock, fish sauce, and chili flakes enriches the broth, adding layers of flavor. The fish sauce imparts a subtle umami note. You can also sub fish stock if available or a combination of chicken stock and clam juice.
- Salt and Pepper: Essential for seasoning, helping to bring out the flavors of all the other ingredients.
- Flat Leaf Parsley: Adds a fresh, herbaceous flavor.
- Lemon: A squeeze of lemon juice brightens the broth, adding a zesty finish that enhances the seafood’s natural sweetness.
Please see the recipe card below for a full list of ingredients and instructions.
Seafood Stew Instructions
Step One– Brown the chorizo (if using) in a little olive oil. Set aside.
Step Two– Saute fennel, onion and garlic until golden. Add tomato paste. Turn heat up to high, constantly stirring, until paste darkens, about 3 more minutes. Frying the paste deepens the flavor of the dish.
Step Three- Add white wine and cook down by half. Add chicken stock, tomatoes, browned chorizo, and fish sauce and bring to a simmer. Add salt and pepper to taste, and chili flakes. Squeeze with half the lemon. Taste. You want the broth to taste rich and flavorful.
Step Four- Add fish, simmer a couple of minutes and add prawns, simmer a couple minutes, then add mussels. Remember the larger the prawns or mussels or fish pieces the longer they take to cook, so look at all your seafood ingredients and determine which will take the longest to cook, putting them in first.
Serving Suggestions for Seafood Stew
Serve with a warm, crusty loaf of bread. Perfect for dipping and soaking up the rich, flavorful broth. A rosemary or whole roasted garlic loaf adds an extra layer of flavor. A light, crisp green salad like this Little Gem Salad helps balance the richness of the stew.
Storage and Make Ahead
- To meal prep make the broth 1-2 days ahead of time. Store the broth in the refrigerator for 3-4 days in a sealed airtight container. Reheat the broth, and add the fish and seafood right before serving.
- Seafood stew is best eaten immediately when cooked, but leftovers will keep up to 3 days in an airtight container in the refrigerator or can be frozen for up to 3 months.
The Best Firm Fish For Stew
You generally want to use firm white fish for most stews and soups, because they will hold their shape and not disintegrate in the liquid. Here are 10 the best fish (and seafood) to use in soups and stews.
- sea bass
- halibut
- black cod
- haddock
- escolar
- ono
- red snapper
- salmon
- scallops
- shrimp
Chefs Tips
- Here is an amazing technique to build depth and flavor, and can be used in many other dishes. Add the tomato paste to the hot pan and stir constantly, sauteing on high heat for a few minutes. It will begin to darken. Cooking or frying the tomato paste-like this really adds deep umami flavor.
- You could also use a cured, smoky Spanish-style chorizo, this would be mainly for seasoning the broth – so reduce the quantity.
- When I don’t have time to make a good fish stock, I use chicken stock and add a teaspoon of fish sauce.
- Good crusty bread is easily made by purchasing a quality loaf of bread (I like rosemary or whole roasted garlic) and slicing it into thick slices. Place on a sheet pan and drizzle with olive oil. Place in a hot oven until lightly browned.
Faqs
Cioppino is an Italian-American tomato-based seafood stew, while bouillabaisse is a French fish soup with a clear broth, flavored with saffron and other aromatics.
Crusty bread and a crisp green salad along with a crisp white wine, like Sauvignon Blanc or Pinot Grigio.
We recommend you freeze just the broth of seafood stew for future use, reheat, and add fresh seafood just before serving.
More favorite Seafood Stews!
I hope you enjoy this summery Mediterranean-style Seafood Stew! Please remember to rate the recipe below.
xoxo
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Seafood Stew Recipe
- Prep Time: 10 mins
- Cook Time: 25 mins
- Total Time: 35 mins
- Yield: 4-6 1x
- Category: Main, seafood, stew, fish,
- Method: Stovetop
- Cuisine: Mediterranean
- Diet: Gluten Free
Description
This Mediterranean Seafood Stew recipe highlights a light, flavorful tomato-fennel broth with fresh fish and seafood and optional chorizo.
Ingredients
- Optional: 6–8 ounces crumbled Mexican chorizo; see notes for Spanish Chorizo, or leave it out.
- 2 cups finely diced fennel (one large bulb)
- 1 cup finely diced onion (half a large onion)
- 4 garlic cloves, smashed and roughly diced
- 2 tablespoons tomato paste
- 1 cup dry white wine
- 4 cups Chicken Stock (or a good fish stock)
- 1 teaspoon fish sauce ( leave out if using fish stock)
- 2 medium tomatoes- diced ( or one canned tomatoes, diced and juices)
- 8 oz firm white fish like halibut, sea bass, mahi mahi, or black cod
- 1 lb mussels (or sub clams)
- 1 lb large prawns, raw, peeled and deveined (or sub scallops)
- 1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes or cayenne
- salt and black pepper to taste
- 1/2 cup chopped flat-leaf parsley
- 1 lemon
Instructions
- In a large heavy bottom pot or deep skillet or Dutch oven, brown the chorizo in a little extra virgin olive oil. (Remove from casing and break up or crumble into small bite-size pieces). Once browned, set aside. Pour off the fat, wipe out skillet with paper towel.
- In the same skillet, heat the olive oil on medium-high heat. Add fennel, stirring often for about 3 minutes. Add onion, turn heat down to medium and saute both until tender, about 8-10 minutes. Add garlic, and sauté 3 minutes, stirring occasionally, until garlic starts to turn golden. Add tomato paste. Turn the heat up to high, constantly stirring, until paste darkens, about 3 more minutes. You are frying the paste to deepen the flavor of the dish.
- Add white wine and turn heat down to medium-high, stirring until it cooks down by half, about 2 minutes. Add chicken stock, tomatoes, browned chorizo, and fish sauce and bring to a boil and let simmer.
- Add salt and pepper to taste, and chili flakes. If using chorizo, the broth may be salty enough- each chorizo is different. Squeeze with half the lemon. Taste. You want the broth to taste rich and flavorful.
- Add fish, simmer a couple minutes and add prawns, simmer a couple minutes, then add mussels. Remember the larger the prawns or mussels or fish pieces the longer they take to cook, so look at all your seafood ingredients and determine which will take the longest to cook, putting them in first.
- Taste, adjust salt and lemon to your preferences.
- Divide among bowls and Finish with the fresh parsley.
Notes
- Chorizo. If you can find cured Spanish chorizo, dice it thinly—you’ll only need 1/4th of a cup! This is my favorite, but it can be harder to source. Mexican chorizo works too. AND If you leave out the chorizo, a pinch of smoked paprika works nicely here!
- Serve with crusty bread. I like to cut a loaf of good quality garlic or rosemary bread into thick slices, arrange on a baking sheet, drizzle with olive oil and fresh rosemary sprigs, and bake in a 400F oven until toasty, or even better, grill the bread.
- If you are going gluten-free, try adding a cup of cooked cannellini beans to the stew for added heartiness, instead of serving with bread.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 ½ cups
- Calories: 476
- Sugar: 4.6 g
- Sodium: 1007 mg
- Fat: 23.6 g
- Saturated Fat: 6.6 g
- Carbohydrates: 14.3 g
- Fiber: 2.9 g
- Protein: 49.3 g
- Cholesterol: 224.5 mg
You simply can’t have too many seafood stew recipes in your life and this one is a real keeper! So delicious, bold flavours and easy enough to make. I cut onions and fennel rather rustic style and it turned out great!
I agree! Glad you enjoyed this one.
I always wanted to try making this, and this recipe was easy, and absolutely delicious. I added a ton of different seafood; the flavor was off the charts!
So glad you gave it a try Mona!
This is a great recipe. I have now made the sauce in volume and frozen it in meal sized servings. I then quickly make a superb meal by adding the seafood after reheating.
Such a brilliant idea!
Wow, wow, wow. I made this for the first time and it was so delicious. No white wine in ours. The depth of flavour with the chorizo and fennel was incredible. Did small scallops, large shrimp, white fish and mussels and I will do it again!!
Sounds lovely Colleen!
Wonderful summer recipe. We used veggie sausage and some tamari in place of the fish sauce along with a melange of seafood (scallops, squid, and shrimp). Just excellent..thank you!
Glad you liked Lisa!
Holy heck. We edited this for what we had on hand (like a frozen leftover fennel/seafood broth) and it was PERFECTION. Thank you for this. We had a locally made chorizo, the end of a bag of frozen shrimp, fridge-stable mussels, fennel, and random thawed homemade broth.
I don’t have fish stock or fish sauce, will clam juice work?
yes!
Absolutely delicious, definitely a winner with the family and will be a on high rotation here. Thankyou so much.
Thanks so much and great to hear! 🙌
What a lovely meal! I have several recipes for seafood casseroles and stews and this is one of the best. The chorizo does no overpower the taste (well not the chorizo I used). I included squid rings but I reckon you could use other items as well such as crab, octopus and various shellfish.
Great to hear!
Made this for dinner with friends, it was a huge success. Definitely will make it again soon. Thanks !
Just made this for dinner and served it over angel hair pasta! I didn’t add the chorizo, but I will next time. It was delicious and my family raved about it. I added a little curry and some leeks. The fennel was such a grea Idea. We loved the flavor! This is a definite keeper!!!
Just made this but substituted the chorizo as am a pescatarian with paprika (put in with the fennel, onion and garlic). Absolutely delicious. Almost didn’t put the fennel in but so glad made the effort to go and get some. Made fresh fish stock first. Also used butter beans, as no cannelini, as coeliac. Truly delicious. Definitely shall be remaking this! Thank you.