Seafood Stew (Slow Cooker)

Where I am it is cold, wet and rainy and definitely soup weather.  Here's my version of a French bouillabaisse.  I didn't call it that though as I made a lot of changes.  Historically a bouillabaisse was a fish boil made with salt water on the beach at the end of the day.  Enjoy!

Makes approximately 14 x 1 1/2 cup (375 ml) - 250 g servings.

INGREDIENTS:
2 leeks, bulb and lower leaf, sliced
6 potatoes, medium, with peel, chunks
1 Tbsp hot chile pepper, diced (optional) - 15 ml
1 Tbsp XV Olive oil - 15  ml
1 Tbsp butter - 15 ml
1/2 tsp fennel seed - 2.5 ml
1 tsp  paprika - 5 ml
1/4 tsp salt - 1.25 ml
1/2 tsp black pepper, freshly ground - 2.5 ml
142 g can clams, with juice
1 lb haddock, raw - 450 g
2 bay leaves
6 or so sprigs of thyme, fresh (sub 1/2 tsp dried - 2.5 ml)
1 Tbsp oregano leaves, fresh (sub 1/2 tsp dried - 2.5 ml)
2 cups water - 500 ml
1/2 cup white wine - 125 ml
14 each shrimp, raw, large
2 tsp lemon peel/zest, fresh - 10 ml
Hard grating cheese like Pecorino Romano for garnishing bowls

PREPARATION:

1.  Slice leeks using the lower white part and some of the green.

Trim ends can be frozen for your next soup stock.

2.  Cut potatoes into 11/2 inch (4 cm) chunks and add to pot.  Potato chunks are larger as you don't want them to cook too quickly.

3.  Mince garlic and  hot red pepper (optional) and sprinkle over potatoes.

4.  Top with olive oil and a blob of butter.  Sprinkle fennel seed, paprika, salt and freshly ground black pepper over.

5.  Add the cans of diced tomatoes and clams with their juices to the pot and use spoon to mix well.  Use garden tomatoes if you have some - about 4 cups diced.  

6.  Lay fish fillets over.  You needn't cut them up as they will fall apart into smaller pieces as the stew cooks.  Below I used a mild flavoured pollack.  It would be great with lake fish like Pike or Pickerel but this was what I had on hand.

7.  Top with bay leaf, sprigs of fresh thyme and oregano.

8.  Pour water and white wine down the sides.

9.  Cover and cook on LOW 6-8 hours.

10.  Stir in shrimp and strips of yellow pepper.  Cover and cook another 30 minutes or until shrimp are cooked.   Stir in lemon zest.  Taste and adjust seasoning.

11.  To serve, ladle into bowls and serve with a good hard grating cheese like Pecorino Romano.

NUTRITION FACTS (per 1 1/2 cup - 375 ml): 140 calories, 2.5 g fat, 1 g saturated fat, 280 mg salt, 18 g carbohydrate, 2 g fibre, 3 g sugar.   % Daily Values: 20% Vitamin A, 90% Vitamin C, 6% calcium and 25% iron.

(c) Nancy Guppy, RD, MHSc.  

Visit my website to find out more about online nutrition counselling. http://nancyguppy.com/