Mussel + Clam Christmas Bouillabaisse

Possibly the most holiday cheer we muster is around the dinner table for the season’s special occasion meals. A classic seafood celebratory stew, our take on the French classic, bouillabaisse, will provide all the red and green your dinner table needs as well as warm you up from the inside out. 

Serves 4-6

• Ingredients: 
• ¼ cup olive oil 
• 1 yellow onion, diced
• 1 fennel bulb, diced
• 4 garlic cloves, grated
• 2 tablespoons tomato paste 
• 2 tablespoons fresh picked thyme
• Zest of 1 lemon
• Pinch of saffron threads
• 1 tablespoon salt
• 2 cups dry white wine, we used muscadet and drank they rest along with some oysters
• 3 cups tomato puree 
• ½ teaspoon vinegar based hot sauce like Tabasco 
• 2 teaspoons black pepper
• 1 lb mussels, debearded
• 1 lb clams
• ¼ cup fresh parsley, picked

In a large pot, heat your olive oil over medium-high heat and melt your onion, fennel, and garlic over for four minutes or until the room fills with aromatics and the alliums become transparent and soft. Using a wooden spoon, add the tomato paste and distribute it into the mixture evenly.

Season the pot with thyme, lemon, saffron, and salt and pour the wine into the soup. Allow the alcohol to cook off (about seven minutes) before adding tomato puree. Using an immersion blender, blend the stew until the broth is silky and smooth and no big chunks of vegetables remain. If you’d like a less dense broth, pour  small amounts of broth into the box until you reach your desired consistency. 

To cool the shellfish, simply place the mussels and clams into the pot and place the lid over soup for five to seven minutes or until most of the shells have opened. Cajole any shut shells open by stirring the entirety of the soup with your wooden spoon, and allowing any stragglers to open with the top off the pot for three minutes. Discard any stubborn shells that refused to open. Serve with buttered, crusty bread immediately.