...was the thought, but that changed. My wife prefers non-cream or milk based soups and chowders and I saw an add for clear broth Rhode Island Clam Chowder. Never even knew there was such a thing and after some research, thought this might just be the ticket, especially for Sheila. Got to looking at a few recipes and realized it's a pretty simple chowder to make, but when looking in my freezer for some of my homemade shrimp stock to use, I found a 2 lb. bag of cooked mussels. Thinking about how to incorporate them, I switched gears and decided on a seafood stew instead so here we go...
Most of the cast of characters...
![20240528_163106[1].jpg](data:image/svg+xml;charset=utf-8,%3Csvg xmlns%3D'http%3A%2F%2Fwww.w3.org%2F2000%2Fsvg' width='1000' height='750' viewBox%3D'0 0 1000 750'%2F%3E "20240528_163106[1].jpg")
Fry the bacon pieces until crispy...
![20240528_164359[1].jpg](data:image/svg+xml;charset=utf-8,%3Csvg xmlns%3D'http%3A%2F%2Fwww.w3.org%2F2000%2Fsvg' width='750' height='1000' viewBox%3D'0 0 750 1000'%2F%3E "20240528_164359[1].jpg")
Once cooked, remove the bacon and add the butter to the drippings. Add onions and clams reserving the clam juice for later, sauté until the onions are mostly translucent...
Next I added the reserved clam juice, 1 jar of the Snow's clam juice, and the quart of shrimp stock...
Brought that up to a simmer and added the potatoes. Simmer until the potatoes are almost tender then add the scallops, shrimp, fish, and mussels. Bring back to a simmer until potatoes are tender, won't take very long...
Added about 2-3 TBSP of chopped Italian Parsley and 1-2 TBSP of chopped Dill...
Brought that back to a simmer, turned off heat. Topped with green onions, served with crusty baguette, time to eat...
I used THIS Rhode Island Clam Chowder recipe as a basis for this stew, but kind of went my own way using stuff I had. I thawed the scallops and the mussels reserving the juice from the packs which was added in with the other liquids. The original recipe called for diced celery, but I didn't realize I was out, would've been good I believe.
The flavor was intense, very oceany, and everyone raved over it. Sheila asked if I had written down what I did so you know what that means
. I added salt and pepper at the end, but very little was needed, so taste first. I don't really think that the parsley or dill added much to this other than looks, but it was in the recipe I loosely followed. Even my 7 year old grandgirl got seconds so I'd say this was a hit...
Most of the cast of characters...
- 1 lb. of shrimp. These are 21-26 count cut in half or thirds
- 1 lb. of sea scallops. These are the jumbos wet pack cut into quarters
- 1 lb. redfish fillets. These are the thick part on top behind the head cut into about 1" pieces. Any firm, white flakey fish should work just fine
- 2 lbs. frozen cooked mussels in the shell. These are sold in a 2lb. pack at Walmart
- 2 10 oz. cans of whole baby clams drained, reserve the juice. I used Bumble Bee brand, but any should work
- 1 8 oz. jar of Snow's Clam Juice. I bought 2 jars, but only used 1
- 1 quart of my homemade shrimp stock
- About 1-1½ lbs. of small red potatoes cut into chunks
- Couple of slices of my own thick sliced bacon diced
- 1 large onion diced
- Fresh Italian Parsley
- Fresh Dill
- 2 TBSP unsalted butter
- Coarse salt and fresh cracked black pepper to taste
Fry the bacon pieces until crispy...
Once cooked, remove the bacon and add the butter to the drippings. Add onions and clams reserving the clam juice for later, sauté until the onions are mostly translucent...
Next I added the reserved clam juice, 1 jar of the Snow's clam juice, and the quart of shrimp stock...
Brought that up to a simmer and added the potatoes. Simmer until the potatoes are almost tender then add the scallops, shrimp, fish, and mussels. Bring back to a simmer until potatoes are tender, won't take very long...
Added about 2-3 TBSP of chopped Italian Parsley and 1-2 TBSP of chopped Dill...
Brought that back to a simmer, turned off heat. Topped with green onions, served with crusty baguette, time to eat...
I used THIS Rhode Island Clam Chowder recipe as a basis for this stew, but kind of went my own way using stuff I had. I thawed the scallops and the mussels reserving the juice from the packs which was added in with the other liquids. The original recipe called for diced celery, but I didn't realize I was out, would've been good I believe.
The flavor was intense, very oceany, and everyone raved over it. Sheila asked if I had written down what I did so you know what that means
. I added salt and pepper at the end, but very little was needed, so taste first. I don't really think that the parsley or dill added much to this other than looks, but it was in the recipe I loosely followed. Even my 7 year old grandgirl got seconds so I'd say this was a hit...
