There's nothing like fresh Maine Mussels and Quahogs. Use them in a stew and you have an amazing meal to be enjoyed by the whole family. Be sure to have some bread for dipping! I found the recipe, courtesy of Alison from Two of a Kind.
INGREDIENTS
Broth:
- 4 quarts water
- 2 medium onions, diced
- 6 stalks celery, cut into 1" pieces
- 4 garlic cloves, smashed
- 1 bay leaf
- ¼ cup black peppercorns
- 2 teaspoons smoked paprika
- ¼ teaspoon cayenne pepper
Stew:
- 1 pound Quahogs, scrubbed and rinsed
- 2 pounds Maine mussels, scrubbed, debearded and rinsed
- ¼ cup olive oil
- 2 medium onions, diced
- 6 stalks celery, diced
- 5 medium carrots, peeled and diced
- 4 garlic cloves, thinly sliced
- 1 14.5 oz. can diced tomatoes, drained
- 1 cup dry white wine
- sea salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
- fresh cilantro (for topping, optional)
INSTRUCTIONS
Make the broth:
- Place all broth ingredients (water through cayenne pepper) in a large stock pot. Bring to a boil and then reduce heat to medium. Cover and simmer for 20 minutes. Remove from heat and strain broth through a fine-mesh sieve; discard vegetables, bay leaf and peppercorns.
Make the stew:
- Bring broth to a simmer over medium heat. Add clams and mussels and cook until they open. Turn off heat. Using a slotted spoon, transfer the clams and mussels to a large bowl and discard any that are unopened. Strain broth through a fine-mesh sieve and set aside.
- When clams and mussels are cool enough to handle, remove the meat from the shells and set aside; leave some intact for garnish, if desired.
- In a large pot, heat olive oil over medium-high heat. Add onions, celery and carrots and cook, stirring occasionally, until tender, about 10 minutes.
- Add garlic and tomatoes and cook for 5 minutes. Then add wine and simmer until the liquid has reduced by half, about 5 minutes.
- Add 4 cups prepared broth and clam and mussel meat and bring to a boil. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Garnish with cilantro, if desired, and serve immediately.