What would Christmas be without the Feast of the Seven Fishes Stew? And the best part, it is done way before your guests arrive for dinner.

FEAST OF THE SEVEN FISHES STEW – even if you don’t usually like anchovies, don’t leave them out.  They add just touch of briny salt flavor.  Be sure you have all the ingredients prepped before you start cooking.  Coincidentally there are SEVEN steps, and the final result serves
SEVEN people!

  • 1 TBS olive oil
  • ½ lb. medium dry-packed scallops
  • ½ lb. skinless salmon fillet, cut into 1” chunks
  • ½ lb. cod or other mild white fish cut into chunks
  • ½ lb. peeled & deveined medium raw shrimp
  • 1 oz. anchovies chopped and save the oil (most cans are 2 oz. so use ½ can)
  • ½ cup wine mixed with ½ cup water
  • 12 clams (fresh or frozen)
  • 1 lb. mussels (fresh or frozen)
  • 1 medium fennel bulb, cored and sliced, save some fronds for garnish
  • 4 chopped garlic cloves
  • 1 tsp orange zest
  • 28 oz. crushed tomatoes (open the can and add 1 tsp crushed red pepper)

1. Let scallops, salmon ad fish come to room temperature.  Heat oil in a large pot of medium-high.  Add scallops and cook until one side is golden brown – about 2 minutes.  Remove from pan and set aside.

2. Add wine-water mixture and clams to pan.  Cover and turn heat on high until clams open, 5-7 minutes.  Transfer clams to a bowl and discard any that don’t open.  Add mussels to pan and cook until they open, 3-4 minutes.  Remove and set aside – discard any that don’t open.

3. Pour all the liquid in the pot through a fine mesh strainer into a bowl and set aside.

4. Add the anchovy oil to the pan over medium-high.  Add anchovies and cook until they dissolve; about 2 minutes.  (Add a little olive oil if needed).  Stir in the sliced fennel and cook for about 5 minutes, add the orange zest and cook for another minute.

5. Stir in reserved liquid, tomatoes and crushed red pepper.  Reduce heat to medium and simmer uncovered for 12-15 minutes until the sauce is slightly thickened.

6. Gently add both fish and shrimp, cover and reduce heat to low.  Cook for 6-8 minutes until seafood is opaque.  Stir in the cooked scallops.  At this point you may want to transfer the mixture to a heat-proof serving dish or crock pot set on low (or not).  Top the stew with the clams and mussels facing up – it looks amazing!  Garnish with fennel fronds and serve.

7. You can make the dish four hours ahead of time and let it sit in the crock pot on low until an hour before and then turn it down to warm.  The longer Italian food sits the better it gets; and you will have time to relax before your guests arrived.