Dennis Prescott

Seafood & Chorizo Stew

Serves 4 – 6

2 tablespoons olive oil
1/2 pound fresh chorizo
1 cup diced leeks
1 cup diced fennel
2 tablespoons minced tarragon
4 garlic cloves, minced
1 cup dry cider
1 X 32-ounce jar passata (tomato puree)
1 pound mussels, scrubbed
1 pound clams, scrubbed
1 tablespoon red wine vinegar
Zest of 1 lemon, grated
1 pound shell-on shrimp
1 pound cod
3 tablespoons minced flat-leaf parsley, plus more to garnish
Juice of 1 lemon
Sea salt and cracked black pepper
Crusty bread, to serve

Heat a deep skillet over medium-heat and add the olive oil. Add the chorizo and cook until browned and cooked through, then remove with a slotted spoon. Add the leeks, fennel, a pinch of salt, and sweat down. Add tarragon and garlic, and cook for 1 minute, stirring, then add the cider and deglaze and reduce the liquid by half.

Add the passata, a pinch of salt, mussels, clams, then cover and cook until the shellfish is opened and cooked through, about 5 – 7 minutes (discard any shellfish that do not open – no good). Remove the shellfish and set aside. To the tomato sauce, add the red wine vinegar, lemon zest, cod, and shrimp, then cover again and cook until the fish is cooked through, about 5 – 6 minutes.

Add the chorizo, shellfish, and parsley to the pan, mix, cover one last time off the heat for a couple minutes to warm through. Plate up, then top with a drizzle of olive oil, cracked black pepper, a squeeze of lemon, garnish with parsley, and serve with crusty bread. Delicious!