Fish and Fennel Stew

Mikekey's Note:

This is great on a dreary, wet day with a loaf of warm, crusty French bread and a small spinach salad. This was adapted from an old Sunset recipe. Steamer clams may be used instead of mussels.

• Total Time: 40 mins
• Prep Time: 15 mins
• Cook Time: 25 mins

Ingredients:

Servings: 2

• 1 large fennel bulb (with fronds still attached)
• 1 large onion, chopped
• 6 garlic cloves, minced
• 1 large carrot, peeled and diced
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1 (15 ounce) can no-salt-added diced tomatoes
• 2 cups low sodium chicken broth
• 8 ounces bottled clam juice
• 1/2 cup dry white wine
• 1/4 teaspoon cayenne
• 1 lb halibut (or other firm white fish)
• 12 mussels, in shells

Directions:

1. Remove skin and bones from fish. Cut into 1 1/2 inch pieces.
2. Scrub mussels and remove beards.
3. Trim stems and root end from fennel bulb. Pull feathery leaves from stems and mince. Discard stems and set minced leaves aside.
4. Thinly slice fennel bulb and combine with onion, garlic, carrot and oil in a 5-6 quart pan over medium-high heat. Stir often until vegetables are browned.
5. Add tomatoes, broth, clam juice, wine and cayenne. Bring to a boil over high heat; cover and simmer 10 minutes.
6. Add fish and mussels. Cover and simmer just until fish is opaque but still moist-looking in center (cut to test) and mussels pop open, about 5 minutes. Add minced fennel greens and ladle into wide bowls.

Reviews

[slokiki]

I loved this dish so much I made it a week later for a dinner party. Everyone LOVED it. I did make the following changes. Addded additional 1/2c wine, 1c clam juice, 1 more can chopped stewed tomatoes, 1tsp of chicken soup base

[Deantini]

This stew was really good; both my husband and I were actually surprised how much we liked it. We are not big fish eaters and we force the fish 'thing'. What really made this dish was the fennel - the flavour came through beautifully. Only addition was salt + pepper to taste. Served with crusty bread.

[Rita~]

Wonderful! Great for these cold days of February! My choice of fish was Fish Roll With Compound Butter by Alton Brown which has salmon, flounder and scallops all in one roll. I also added saffron a must in my fish stews! Thanks!