Seafood Stew of Necessity

As the name suggests, this recipe is the result of necessity.

I had to come up with this because Sears Home Service is falling down on the job.  Back in November 2013 we bought a Kenmore Elite bottom freezer refrigerator.  This thing is 30 cubic feet of storage space and I fell in love with it.  Due to the cost, we also got the Service Protection Agreement.  After a bit over a year it started acting up and we've had 4 service calls since the first of the year.  Nothing has worked to this point.  When I checked it Saturday morning the freezer was 40 degrees.  Luckily, we have a garage refrigerator and a couple of freezers to move stuff to.  Unfortunately, the seafood had thawed and refrozen seafood looses a lot in terms of quality if it is refrozen.


So, the items that got thawed were shrimp (31 - 40), scallops, and Whiting.  Then came the pondering about how to use them all quickly.  Then the light bulb flashed on and Seafood Stew of Necessity was born.  OK, it wasn't quite that quick.  The idea was for a soup/stew and to use all three packages of seafood.  Naturally, the idea bounced around in the dark recesses of my mind all day Sunday and while I was at work today and this is the result.


Now, on to Seafood Stew of Necessity.


Ingredients:
10 -  12 oz. raw peeled shrimp
6 - 8 oz. bay scallops
12 - 16 oz. Whiting fish
3 cups water
1 - 1.5 cups white wine
1 Tbs seafood soup base
1 15 oz. can dices tomatoes
6 Kale leaves, destemmed and cut in bite size pieces
1 Tbs garlic powder
1.5 tsp salt
1 tsp ground black pepper
1 Tbs Italian seasoning

Combine the water, wine, and seafood soup base and bring to a boil.  Add the tomatoes and kale and return to a boil.  Add the salt, pepper, and garlic powder and stir it in.  Add the shrimp, scallops, and Whiting and gently stir in.  Let it simmer until the seafood is done.  It won't take long.  Serve and enjoy.

Seafood Stew of Necessity in the pot ready to serve.

 If you have some good crusty bread to go with it this should feed four people.  I didn't think of bread until too late so we ate heavy but there is enough to have a smaller serving for each with some good crusty bread.  The good wife declared this recipe a keeper and that it should be done again,   She did add the caveat of doing it without having the refrigerator go bad.

My bowl, it left me full and content.

Like I always say, think about the flavors you like and the ingredients you have on hand and mix and match according to what works with each other.  Experiment and throw yourself into the creative process with utter abandon.  Taste your creation, evaluate it, and add what you think it needs to make it sing.  Recipes should be general guidelines rather than set formulas.  Make the dish suit you.

Give this one a go and let your creative juices flow.  I think you'll like what you come up with.

Uncle T