Seafood – a Family Tradition

By Debbie Goldsmith
For The Family Table, a blog for busy families

Ever since my son Brandon was very little, he had an affinity for seafood. I remember how surprised we were one evening in a New York City restaurant when, at the age of 10, he checked out the menu and ordered a dozen oysters on the half shell. We tried to explain to him what he had just chosen but he held his ground…and ate the whole thing (minus the two that my husband and I stole).

So, needless to say, we have some sort of seafood on the home menu at least once a week. And, this fish stew allows me to change up the seafood combination each time I prepare it.

I always add shrimp – the frozen raw variety works as well as fresh – but sometimes littleneck clams replace the mussels. I used to make it with scrod or striped bass but then I discovered how durable tilapia is and it doesn’t fall apart as easily as other fish when stirred. Halibut is expensive but also works really well. Scallops never seem to break up but again, they are a bit costly.

If using mussels, look for the cultivated ones. They just need to be rinsed, unlike the wild variety that have “beards” (those hairlike threads that the mussel uses to attach itself to rocks or other surfaces) that need to be removed, using a strong tug.

I named this fish stew (very loosely based on the famous San Francisco Cioppino) after Manhattan, not only because that’s where we live, but also because it reminds me of the tomato-based “Manhattan” version of clam chowder.

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Manhattan Fish Stew

1 tablespoon olive oil
1 medium onion, chopped
1 medium green pepper, chopped
1/2 medium fennel bulb, halved, cored, and thinly sliced
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/8 teaspoon crushed red pepper
2 bottles (8 ounces each) clam juice
1 can (28 ounces) whole tomatoes in juice
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 pound tilapia fillets, cut into 1-inch pieces, cut horizontally in half
1 pound mussels
1/2 pound shelled and deveined medium shrimp
1/2 cup loosely-packed fresh parsley leaves, coarsely chopped

1. In nonstick 6-quart Dutch oven, heat oil over medium-high heat. Add onion, pepper, and fennel and cook until tender and lightly browned. Add garlic and crushed red pepper; cook 1 minute. Add clam broth, tomatoes with their juice, and salt; heat to boiling, stirring and breaking up tomatoes with side of spoon.
2. Add tilapia, mussels, and shrimp; heat to boiling. Reduce heat to medium-low; cover and simmer 8 to 10 minutes or until tilapia and shrimp turn opaque and mussels open. Sprinkle with parsley to serve.

Makes 10 cups or 5 main-dish servings.

Note: Instead of tilapia fillets, you can substitute sea scallops, cut in half. Or you can use a combination to equal 1 pound.

Recipe by Debby Goldsmith

Debby Goldsmith joined Good Housekeeping’s food department in 1973 and became the Associate Food Director in 1976. In this capacity she worked closely with the food director on all monthly features, special publications and cookbooks, and various projects. She also developed and edited recipes and appeared on GH television segments. Debby retired from the publication in 2008. Previous to Good Housekeeping, Debby worked for the Miami News and Kraft Foods. She is based in New York City.

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