Do you like soups and stews? I do. In fact, growing up with siblings, Mom had a nickname (or two or three) for each of us. I was her “soup girl”.
To this day, there is never a time of day or a day of the week when soup, or stew (just thicker soup) is not appropriate. Just last week I was reading that soup is a dieter’s dream. As long as you stay away from the creambased soups a bowl of soup is highly nutritious, very filling, and usually low calorie. Made with diabetes in mind, soup can also be nearly carb free. Soup is soooo easy to make if you just want what I call a hodgepodge soup. Any vegetables at all will work, broth, meat of choice, seasoning of choice, and there it is. Of course you can get much more technical, specific and involved if you want to. When I do that I make a lot and freeze the leftovers, unless they get eaten before I have a chance to freeze them! One of my absolute favorites is Sopa de Mariscos (Spanish for seafood soup). Throw in extra seafood so it is thicker and it becomes Seafood Stew. Here is what I made a few nights ago and it was really good.
We had a difficult time staying away from it long enough to get leftovers into the freezer.
Ingredients
- 4 Tbs. olive oil
- 2 cans baby clams
- 1 cup minced onion
- 3/4 cup minced green onions (bulbs and green tops)
- 1 package (roughly 2 1/2 cups) seafood blend (I get mine at Sam’s Club)
- 1 can (15 ounce) chopped tomatoes
- 2 tsp. chopped, fresh thyme leaves, or a few thyme sprigs.
- 1 bay leaf
- Pinch of saffron (approx. 1/8 tsp.)
- 4 garlic cloves chopped
- 1 tsp. paprika
- Pinch of red pepper flakes
- 2 1/4 cups (roughly) diced potatoes (I use red potatoes because they do not spike my blood sugar like regular ones do. I also leave the skins on because they are high in nutrient value)
- 1quart canned or boxed vegetable broth
- 4 cod loins
- 4 tilapia filets (I used cod and tilapia because they are readily available in New Mexico). The types of fish you use are up to your tastes and what is available wherever you live.
Instructions
- Heat olive oil in heavy- bottom soup pot or Dutch oven. Add diced onions and green table onions, cook until softened ( roughly 5 min.).
- Add tomato, thyme, bay leaf,saffron, garlic, paprika and red pepper flakes. Salt and pepper to taste. Cook, stirring occasionally for approximately 5 minutes.
- Turn heat to high, add vegetable stock and bring to a boil. Add potatoes and reduce heat so they simmer gently until firm- tender (about 10 minutes). The stew may be prepared to this point up to 2 hours ahead.
- To finish the stew, return heat to a brisk simmer. Add all of the fish, seafood blend, clams. Cook approximately 5-7 minutes.
