Mexican Shellfish Stew

Submitted by Vicki in CT

"Similar to a the Spanish Dish. Use large dried chiles, such as chiles quajillos or New Mexico chiles, to spark this stew's broth base. You can substitute one pound of any firm-fleshed fish, such as swordfish, tuna, or mahi mahi, for the shellfish."

 

• Ready In: 40mins
• Ingredients: 10
• Serves: 4

ingredients

• 1 quart chicken stock (can sub canned chicken broth)
• 2 cups canned clam broth (can sub fresh fish stock)
• 2 large dried guajillo chilies or 2 large any chilies, seeded
• 3 medium garlic cloves, peeled
• 1 (8 ounce) can tomatoes, drained
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 20 small clams, scrubbed
• 3⁄4 lb medium shrimp, peeled and deveined
• 1 small onion, minced
• 2 tablespoons minced cilantro

directions

1. Bring the chicken stock and the clam broth to boil in a soup kettle. Add the chiles; simmer until softened, about 10 minutes.
2. Drain the chiles, reserving the cooking liquid. Transfer the chiles and 1/3 cup cooking liquid to a food processor. Add garlic and tomatoes; process until smooth. Strain puréed chile mixture through a fine sieve, pressing on this purée to release its juice and pulp; discard the solids.
3. Heat olive oil in the soup kettle. Add the pureed juice; cook over medium heat, stirring occasionally until this mixture is amber colored and slightly thickened, about 5 minutes. Add the reserved chile cooking liquid; bring to boil. Add the clams and shrimp; simmer until the clams open and the shrimp are opaque throughout, about 3 minutes. (Discard any clams that do not open.).
4. TO SERVE: Ladle soup and a portion of the clams and the shrimp into each warm soup bowl. Sprinkle each bowl of stew with a portion of minced onions and cilantro; serve immediately.