Seafood Stew with Andouille Sausage

Well, today is Halloween.  The final day of October and also the last day of our 2014 Soup Month.  This month has gone by so quickly and I hope you have had the opportunity to try a few of the new soup recipes we presented this month.

It was interesting to ask my family what their favorite soups were this month because they all liked something different!  We all enjoy a big bowl of hot soup for dinner so we now have lots of new recipes to choose from for this winter.

For our Soup Month finale we decided to go with something that my family loves, a Seafood Stew with Andouille Sausage.  Cioppino is one of our favorite dishes and this recipe is very similar, but with the addition of andouille sausage.  The sausage adds a great deal of spice and flavor to the broth and pairs beautifully with the seafood.  I actually splurged and made homemade shrimp stock for this recipe and it added a great deal of flavor to the stew, but can also substitute clam juice for part of the liquid or even use chicken stock with equally good results.

This is a great bowl of soup that can be ready to serve in ab out 30 minutes.  Serve with lots of crusty French bread to sop up all those delicious juices.  Enjoy!!

1 TB  Olive Oil
12 oz  Spicy Andouille Sausage
1 cup  Diced Yellow Onion
1 medium  Green Pepper, chopped
1 TB  Minced Garlic
3 medium  Yukon Gold Potatoes
1 tsp  Dried Oregano
1 tsp Dried Parsley
1 tsp  Dried Thyme
1/2 cup  Dry White Wine
1 14-oz can  Diced Tomatoes with Garlic and Onion
5 cups  Shrimp or Fish Stock or you can use Chicken Stock
1 lb  Fish Fillets, Cod or any dense white fish will work, cut into 2-inch pieces
24  Fresh Mussels, scrubbed
1 lb   Medium Shrimp, peeled and deveined
1 lb  Calamari Rings, defrosted

Salt and Ground Black Pepper to Taste

Over medium-high heat, add the olive oil to a large soup pot with the andouille sausage and cook 4 minutes or until browned on the edges.  Add the onion, pepper, and potatoes and saute for 6 minutes or until the onion is tender.  Add the oregano, parsley, thyme and white wine and simmer until the wine has reduced by half.  Add the tomatoes and stock to the pot and bring to a boil.  Reduce heat to low, cover the pot and simmer gently for 10 minutes.

Add the fish to the pot, pushing the fillets down into the stock.  Add the mussels, again pressing them into the liquid.  Now add the calamari rings and the shrimp as the top layer, pressing them lighting into the top of the stew.  (The calamari and shrimp take the shortest amount of time to cook so they are best near the top of the stew.)  Cover the pot and increase the heat to medium-high and bring to stew to a low boil.  Give the pan a gentle shake every minute or two and this will keep the seafood cooking evenly.

When the shrimp have turned pink, gently stir the stew and remove any mussels that have not opened.  Ladle the stew into wide soup bowls, sprinkle with parsley and serve.