Christmas Eve Lobster-Shrimp Stew ♭

This dish was created, served, and enjoyed as the Taus Mahal 2018 Christmas Eve entrée. It is essentially a shellfish-specialized Cacciucco.† Midway into the meal my wife signalled with two thumbs up, saying that this should become a Christmas Eve tradition.

• 1 tbsp cup olive oil
• ½ medium onion, chopped
• 2 cloves of garlic, minced
• 4 shiitake mushrooms, thinly sliced
• 1 stalk celery, finely chopped
• 1 medium carrot, grated
• 1 cup dry white wine
• 1 cup water
• 1 shrimp bouillon cube
• 1 tbsp unsalted tomato paste
• 1 tsp fish sauce
• 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
• 2 bay leaves
• 1 (10 oz) can baby clams, in juice
• ¼ lb cod or other firm fish, in bite-size pieces
• ¼ lb cleaned squid, cut into 1” rings
• ¼ lb sea scallops
• 1 Australian lobster tail, removed from its shell, in bite-sized pieces
• 15 medium raw shrimp, shelled, deveined, and halved
• 1 tsp leaf tarragon
• 1 tbsp fresh parsley, minced

Heat the oil in a medium stock pot on a medium high setting, add the onion, garlic, mushrooms, celery, and carrot, and cook, stirring occasionally, until the onions become translucent, about 5-10 minutes.

Add the water, wine, bouillon cube, tomato paste, fish sauce, lemon juice, and bay leaves, bring the pot to a simmer, and let simmer about 15 minutes until the celery and carrot have softened.

Add the clams, squid, and cod to the pan and simmer another 10 minutes. Then add the scallops, lobster, shrimp, and tarragon, reestablish the simmer, and cook only until the lobster, scallops, and shrimp just become firm. One good signal that this state has been reached is when the shrimp turn an opaque pink.

Serve in festive bowls, sprinkled with the parsley on top.

Serves 2, with leftovers.