Brodetto di Mare ~ A Guest Post by Healthy Foodie Travels

If you've been reading Oh Cake for a while then you've heard a tale or two from my time spent living in Italy. Today my friend Kiri from Healthy Foodie Travels has a fantastic guest post to share of an Italian shellfish stew called Brodetto di Mare, which literally translates as "little broth of the sea." Isn't that a wonderful image to conjure up? If you enjoy flavorful, healthy food from all cultures around the world then Kiri's blog is the one for you. But I'll let Kiri tell you the rest... 

 Hi! I am Kiri, from Healthy Foodie Travels and I’m thrilled to guest post for Jessica today. She did a wonderful post for me a while back that now has me wanting to visit Boston not only for my beloved Red Sox, but also for its glorious farmer’s market. So let me introduce myself briefly -

I’m a German currently living and working in a research lab in the United States, and my big passions are traveling and eating whatever I can find abroad, while still trying to keep it healthy and balanced. Having been in the U.S. for 7 years now, I do get homesick for a lot of European dishes, so today, let’s cook up Brodetto di Mare, a wonderfully flavorful Italian shellfish stew with fennel and tomatoes.

Ingredients (for 4 servings):
- small fennel bulb
- 4 large sea scallops
- ½ pound jumbo shrimp, peeled and deveined
- salt to taste
- pepper to taste
- olive oil, 3 tbsp
- minced garlic, 1 tbsp
- ground red pepper, 1 tsp
- 1.5 cups dry white wine
- 2 cups + 1 tbsp tomato paste
- 1/3 cup freshly squeezed orange juice (about 1 orange’s worth)
- orange zest, 1 tsp (about ½ orange)
- 8 littleneck clams
- 8 mussels, beards removed
- 2 tbsp anise flavored liqueur
- 2 tbsp unsalted butter

Steps:

1. Cut off the top of the fennel at the base of the stalk and remove the outer layer of the bulb if you see any bruises. Slice through the bottom portion of the base (leave root end intact!), then half the bulb and remove the core. Slice into 1/8 inch thick pieces.

2. Heat olive oil in large stainless steel pan to medium. Season scallops and shrimp with salt and pepper and sauté until lightly browned, about 2 minutes. Turn over and cook for another 2 minutes, then set aside until later.

3. Stir fennel, grlic, red pepper to the oil and cook for about 1 minutes, then add 1 tbsp tomato paste and cook for 3 more minutes, stirring constantly.

4. Add wine to deglaze, then add rest of tomato paste, orange juice and orange zest.

5. Bring to a boil and simmer uncovered for 10 minutes. Add salt and pepper to taste.

6. Add clams, mussels and liqueur and cook for another 3 to 5 minutes.

7. Add shrimp and scallops and simmer until mussels and clams have opened.

8. Stir in butter until melted, and serve.