This hearty seafood stew is best when fresh seafood is available, however, even if you have to use frozen, the combination of lobster, crab, shrimp, scallops, mussels, clams and cod with tomatoes, wine and fresh basil will give you all the reason you need to sop up all the love in the bottom of the bowl.
1lbsmall maine lobster tailscleaned, cut into pieces
9small littleneck clamsscrubbed
9medium fresh musselsbeards removed
1/2lbfresh or frozen codcut into cubes
1/2lblarge shrimpshelled and deveined, tails intact
3/4lbsea scallops
1/4cupfresh parsleychopped
3tbspfresh basilfinely chopped
Instructions
Cook garlic, onions, bay leaf, oregano and red pepper flakes with salt and pepper in oil in an 8 quart heavy pot over medium heat, stirring until onions are softened, about 5 minutes.
Add tomatoes with their juice, clam juice, and broth. Simmer, covered, 30 minutes.
Season with salt and pepper.
While stew is simmering, add crab, lobster, clams, and mussels. Cover and simmer for 5-10 minutes or until clams just open. Transfer clams to a bowl, and discard any unopened clams.
Add cod, shrimp, and scallops to stew and simmer, covered, until just cooked through, about 5 minutes.
Discard bay leaf, then return clams to pot and gently stir in parsley and basil.
Serve immediately in large soup bowls.
Notes
Be sure to have crusty bread nearby to soak up the wonderful broth in the bowl.