Seafood Mediterranean

This is the kind of seafood stew you’d find at a seaside trattoria on the Italian coast. Lobster tail pieces, shrimp, and cherrystone clams all cook together in a fragrant broth of white wine, garlic-infused olive oil, plum tomatoes, fresh parsley, and oregano. Five to eight minutes of covered steaming is all it takes once the broth is built.

The clams need prep work before they touch the pot. Three rounds of soaking in salt water purges the sand from inside the shells. Skip this and you’ll be crunching grit in your stew.

Garlic sautees in a generous half cup of olive oil first, then the lobster pieces go in for a quick stir before the wine and tomatoes build the braising liquid. The shrimp and clams sit right on top of the stew and steam under the lid, cooking gently in the rising vapor instead of boiling in the broth.

Pro Tips

• Discard any clams that don’t open after steaming. Closed clams may be dead and unsafe to eat.
• Cut the lobster tails crosswise into thirds through the shell. This exposes more meat to the broth and makes them easier to eat.
• Leave the tail shells on the shrimp. They add flavor to the broth and look beautiful in the bowl.
• Serve with crusty bread for soaking up the garlicky tomato broth. That’s where half the flavor ends up.

Variations

• Add mussels alongside the clams for an even more impressive shellfish spread.
• Stir in a pinch of saffron with the tomatoes for a more Spanish-leaning flavor.
• Toss the stew over linguine for a full seafood pasta dinner.