Red Fish Stew

Ingredients

For the Broth (makes double what you need):
• 3-4 oz. shrimp shells (shells from 1 lb. headless shrimp)
• 1 large onion, trimmed peeled and cut into eighths
• 2 stalks celery, greens and stem ends trimmed, cut into 2-inch-long pieces
• 6 stems fresh flat-leaf parsley
• 3 bay leaves
• 6 cups water
• 1/2 cup crisp dry white wine, such as Pinot Grigio or Sauvignon Blanc
• Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste

For the Stew:
• 1/4 lb. slab bacon, cut into small dice, or 4 strips thick-cut bacon, cut into small dice
• 2 serrano, Thai or other dried red chiles, stems trimmed, slit down their sides, seeded and flattened
• 1 1/2 lbs. Yukon Gold or other waxy potatoes, peeled and sliced into 1/4-inch-thick half moons
• 2 cups chopped yellow onion (about 2 large onions)
• 1 1/2 cups broth (see above)
• 1 cup full-bodied white wine, such as Chardonnay, Riesling or Voignier
• 3 bay leaves
• One 28-oz. can whole peeled tomatoes, with their juice
• 1 teaspoon kosher salt, plus more to taste
• 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper, plus more to taste
• 2 teaspoons mustard seeds, pounded with a mortar and pestle to a fine powder
• 2 teaspoons whole coriander seeds, toasted and pounded with a mortar and pestle to a fine powder
• 1 tablespoon brown sugar
• 2 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce, plus more to taste
• 2 tablespoons ketchup
• 1 1/2 lbs. flaky white fish such as spottail bass, sheepshead, wreckfish, hake, catfish, cod or whiting, cut into 1 1/2-inch chunks
• 1/2 cup half-and-half
• 1 cup fresh corn kernels, cut from the cob (about 2 ears)

Instructions

1. First make the broth. Place the shrimp shells, onion, parsley and bay leaves in a medium stockpot. Add the water and wine and bring to a vigorous simmer over high heat. Turn the heat to low and simmer gently for 45 minutes.
2. Strain the broth into a bowl through a fine-mesh strainer. Discard the solids. measure the amount of broth you're left with. Taste the broth: if you don't plan to reduce it further, season it gently with shrimp boil seasoning or salt and pepper (start with 1/4 teaspoon shrimp boil or 1/8 teaspoon salt and 1/8 teaspoon pepper per 1 cup of broth).
3. To make the stew, scatter the diced bacon in a 6-quart stockpot or Dutch oven over medium-high heat. With a slotted spoon, move the pieces around until the bacon is firm and just golden brown, about 3 minutes. Transfer the bacon to a small bowl with the slotted spoon. Pour out all but 2 tablespoons of the bacon fat. Add the chiles and gently toast until they discolor and release some of their fragrance, about 30 seconds per side. Remove with the spoon and reserve in the bowl with the bacon.
4. Add the potatoes and saute in the bacon fat for about 5 minutes, stirring occasionally to keep them from sticking. Add the onion and saute, stirring frequently, until fragrant and beginning to soften, about 3 minutes. Add the broth, wine and bay leaves and bring to a simmer. Continue to simmer vigorously until the liquid is reduced by one quarter, about 6 minutes. Add the tomatoes one by one, lightly crushing each as you add it, followed by the tomato juice. When the stew returns to a simmer, reduce the heat to low, cover, and simmer vigorously for 20 minutes, or until the potatoes are not quite tender.
5. Add the salt, pepper, mustard, coriander, brown sugar, Worcestershire sauce and ketchup and simmer for 10 minutes more, covered, until the potatoes are completely tender when pierced with a fork.
6. Add the fish to the pot. Return to a simmer and continue to simmer gently for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally to break the fish into flakes. Add the half-and-half and the corn and simmer very gently for 5 minutes more, until the corn has softened slightly but still has some bite. Season to taste with salt, pepper and Worcestershire sauce.
7. Serve over hot white rice or with wedges of corn bread, garnished with reserved bacon.

Notes