Vegetable Seafood Stew with Alaska Seafood

You may have noticed that the majority of the soups on Seriously Soupy are either vegetable or bean-based with some fish recipes sprinkled in. This pretty much sums up the way I eat, but I do want to delve into more diverse recipes that will include meat and ingredients that I have never experimented with. An easy way for me to kick this off is by experimenting with more fish. I recently received a boat load of fish from Alaska Seafood Marketing, an organization that represents the Alaska fisheries of salmon, cod, rockfish, halibut, black cod, sole, crab and Alaska pollock, and I immediately thought of the different recipes that I could create using this healthy protein. The beauty of their fish is that it is managed for continued abundance as mandated by the Alaska Constitution since 1959. In fact, their wild fisheries are so important that finfish farming is prohibited by law in the state of Alaska. This ensures safe seafood that is also managed for protection against overfishing, habitat damage, and pollution.

With an abundance of fish from Alaska Seafood Marketing, I decided to make a hearty and healthy fish stew using Pacific Halibut Filets. I though that this lean and light fish would be the perfect combination for this soup. I started by making a sauce of fresh tomatoes, dill, lemon, onions, celery and garlic and then I added in some carrots, mushrooms and fish and finally the halibut and some mussels for a savory and filing soup. I loved flavorful soup as well as how the fish maintained its firm texture and shape during the cooking process.

Vegetable Seafood Stew

Ingredients:
1 pound of halibut filets, cut up
approximately 5 cups of water
1 yellow onion, cut up
6 cloves of garlic, minced
1 scallion, cut up
bunch of fresh dill
bunch of fresh basil
4 tomatoes, cut up
1 lemon
2 stalks of celery, cut up
2 carrots, cut up
10 mushrooms, cut up
10 mussels (I used frozen)
salt and pepper to taste
olive oil

Directions:
Drizzle some olive oil in a large pan and cut up the onions, scallions and mince the garlic. Add them to the pan and put on a low heat as you cut up the tomatoes and celery and add them in as well. Add in the dill, lemon and basil and cover. Cut up the carrots and mushrooms and add them in the pan with 3 cups of water and let cook for 20 minutes on a medium heat. Cut up the fish and add it into the pan. Let cook for another 20 minutes or so, stirring periodically. Add in the mussels, some salt and pepper. Enjoy with some crusty bread.