The most sensational, aromatic seafood stew – a hit with all my family members. 


Crusty, home baked Saint’s Day bread with textured sweetened wheat.

I’ve written previously about the feast I prepare for my family’s Saint’s Day – Saint Luke -celebrated with loved ones over delicious dishes annually on this day. It also happens to coincide with Halloween, which means my children don a variety of dress up outfits and run to and from the front door handing out treats to neighbourhood children who stop by. We ended up hoisting the treat bag onto a hook high out of reach of my almost five year old son Luka who said, “I just want to try one more lolly to check they are still fresh.” Let’s just say that very little food ever has a chance to spoil in my household of eight enthusiastic eaters. 

The standout dish at this evening’s feast – besides the decorated Saint’s Day Bread and Sweetened Wheat – was the Seafood Stew. I sought inspiration from Karen Martini’s recipe of a similar name, but used only the seafood from my local fishmonger that was available today and sourced from Australian and New Zealand waters. 

Any preconceived ideas that you may have of pungent, oily fish stews should be banished right now to the bottom of the ocean. My version is aromatic with fresh oregano and saffron, with a touch of sweetness achieved by including slowly sautéed Spanish onion and celery sofritto with rich Italian tinned tomatoes. I served this as an entrée but it is adequately robust to suffice as a main meal. Next time I’m going to hunt down a couple of blue swimmer crabs and toss them into the pot as well for added flavour and textural interest. 

Seafood Stew to serve 8 – 10 as an entree or 5 as a main meal. 

4 tablespoons olive oil
1 large Spanish onion
5 fat garlic cloves
3 long sticks of celery plus 2-3 of the light green inner pieces with their soft leaves attached
1 heaped teaspoon sea salt
1/2 teaspoon saffron threads
1 combined cup of fresh basil and oregano leaves roughly chopped
1 teaspoon sugar (I use raw caster sugar)
1 cup dry white wine
2 x 400 g tins of rich diced tomatoes (I use the Mutti Polpa brand)
1/2 to 1 teaspoon dried chilli flakes (the amount depends on how much heat you are after)
500 ml water, vegetable stock or chicken stock
1 kg raw, peeled Australian king prawns, tails left on
1 kg black shell mussels
500 grams scallops

In a large, deep saucepan, heat the olive oil over a low heat. 

Using a food processor or blender, finely chop the onion, garlic and celery. Add this to the pot along with the sea salt. Sauté for a total of 15 minutes, stirring occasionally top prevent it from burning. It is essential that the sofritto, the onion/garlic/celery mixture has time to soften and release the natural sweetness central to this dish. After 10 minutes add the fresh herbs and saffron threads – the latter will turn the mixture an appealing golden colour. 

Increase the heat to medium and pour in the wine. Allow to cook off for a minute and then add the tinned tomatoes, sugar, chilli and either water or stock of your preference. Give the mixture a good stir to combine, then reduce the heat to low, cover with a lid and simmer for 30 minutes. 

In the meantime start on the seafood. Using a wide frypan, splash in some extra olive oil and quickly sear the prawns on each side. You don’t want to cook them through at this stage, just turn the outer layer a light pink colour. Do this in several batches to prevent overcrowding and remove each seared batch to a clean bowl or plate. 

Do the same with the scallops. 

For the mussels, add them to the frypan with a little splash of white wine and put on the lid. Jiggle the pan about and within about 3 – 4 minutes the mussels will have opened up with the inner flesh cooked through. remove the opened mussels to a clean bowl and discard the ones that have not opened as they are not mature enough to be eaten. 

One the herby tomato saffron soup base is ready, carefully add the seared seafood and prepared mussels. Put on the lid and cook for an additional 5 minutes. 

Taste the soup before serving and adjust the seasoning if needed. Sprinkle with extra fresh herbs before setting onto the table. Ladle into seep bowls and serve with crusty bread (home made if you have it). Encourage diners to dip the bread into the tasty soup base and provide side plates for the emptied mussel shells.