Author Notes
This recipe came to me via my in-laws and I'm grateful. It's dead easy) as they said it would be. I made it for my daughter's birthday (7, at her request) and tonight for a pre-Christmas dinner with friends. Doubled the quantity both times. For the party, we had 12 or so and it was gone (doubled); tonight we had 10, but four were children, and we have enough for a couple of bowls tomorrow. —gabby
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Ingredients
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2 tablespoons
olive oil
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3
shallots, minced
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1
red bell pepper, chopped
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1 cup
white wine (your preference, just not sweet nor fruity)
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.5 teaspoons
salt
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.5 teaspoons
dried basil
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.25 teaspoons
fresh ground pepper
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2
garlic cloves, minced
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14.5 ounces
diced tomatoes (canned)
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1
bay leaf
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1
orange rind
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1 pound
pacific halibut, tilapia, or similar fish (or combination of fish), cut into 2 inch pieces
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1.5 pounds
mussels (more if you'd like) - rinsed and trimmed of beard
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2 tablespoons
chopped flat-leaf parsley
Directions
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Heat oil on medium in large, low pot that has a lid. Sauté shallots and red bell for about five minutes.
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Add the next eight the ingredients, the wine through the orange rind and simmer on medium low for another five minutes, stirring occasionally.
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Nestle the shellfish in the sauce, spooning to cover. Place the fish on top and cover the pot. Let it sit for about 10 minutes until the fish is cooked through and the mussels have opened. Gently stir to mix.
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Discard any unopened shellfish. Ladle into a bowel and serve with a pinch of parsley. Other garnishes may be chervil, red pepper flakes, or hot sauce. My small children eschew the spicy options.
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Options: The original recipe calls for orange roughy which is on the no-fish list for us. Good, sustainable substitutes are Pacific halibut and farmed tilapia. Tilapia tends to flake but is a well-priced fish, if not bland. I like to mix the tilapia with something more flavorful and balance the cost and flavor. When I double the recipe, I added clams. So I end up with 1.5 pounds of mussels and 2 pounds of clams because the heavier clam shells mean that you get fewer clams per pound.
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