Italian Seafood Stew

This Italian Seafood Stew is a quick seafood recipe using couscous, tomatoes, currants and capers. This Italian stew comes together in just 20 minutes!

 

Ingredients

Filled with flavor and lots of seafood ingredients, they should all be easy to find at your local grocery store.

• Israeli or pearl couscous – Israeli couscous, also known as pearl couscous, adds a hearty and robust base to this fish stew.
• Extra virgin olive oil – This is what we use to sauté the pine nuts, onion, garlic and currants in. It helps prevent things from sticking to the pan.
• Pine nuts – With a piney flavor and slight crunch, pine nuts are the perfect addition to this cioppino stew.
• Yellow onion – I like using a yellow onion here because it’s slightly sweet and has a mild flavor. You could also use a white onion or red onion.
• Fresh garlic cloves – You can either thinly slice them or mince them. Thinly sliced is faster and will have a milder garlic flavor, while mincing will produce more garlicky taste.
• Dried currants – Similar to raisins, currants add a hint of sweetness and texture to this classic cioppino recipe.
• Pepper – I use both dried red pepper flakes and freshly ground black pepper to add a little bit of heat to the stew base. You can add more or less to taste.
• White wine – A dry white wine like pinot grigio or sauvignon blanc is preferable here. We will get sweetness from the tomato sauce and currants. Alternatively, you can use seafood stock, vegetable broth, chicken broth or red wine for more robust flavor. 
• Tomato sauce – Make sure this is just plain tomato sauce, not marinara or pasta sauce. You can buy cans of this down the canned vegetable aisle.
• Fresh seafood – Types of seafood can range from shrimp, mussels, littleneck clams, langostinos, crab meat (but will likely be cooked), lobster tails, scallops or flakey white fish. You want this cut into bite-sized pieces.
• Caper berries – Caper berries are the mature buds of the caper bush. Capers (the small ones) are harvested as the bud, before it flowers and then turns into a berry.

Variations

There are plenty of ways for you to make this Italian Seafood Stew recipe your own. Here are a few ideas.

• Seafood – Instead of using the seafood I suggested above, try using whole dungeness crab, bay scallops, crab legs or any catch of the day from your local fish market
• Tomatoes – In addition to the tomato sauce, try adding whole tomatoes, crushed tomatoes, tomato paste or tomato puree. It is a tomato-based seafood stew after all.
• Fresh produce – Take this easy cioppino recipe up a notch by adding fresh produce. Fresh tomatoes, carrots, fennel fronds or fresh parsley would be perfect.

How to Make Italian Seafood Stew

Making this seafood cioppino might just be easier than you think!

1. Cook the couscous according to package directions for al dente, making sure to sufficiently salt the water. Rinse quickly with cold water to stop the cooking process. Drain well and set aside.
2. Sauté pine nuts, onion, garlic and pepper flakes. In a Dutch oven or large sauce pot, heat the olive oil over medium heat. Add pine nuts, onion, garlic, currants and dried red pepper flakes, sauté until vegetables have started to soften and become fragrant.
3. Deglaze the pan with the white wine and then stir in the tomato sauce, bringing to a low simmer. Add the cooked couscous, cooking until small bubbles form.
4. Add seafood and capers. Lastly, stir in the seafood and caper berries, cooking until seafood is just cooked.
5. Garnish and serve. Serve immediately, garnishing with Maldon sea salt, extra virgin olive oil and scallions, if desired

What to Serve with Italian Seafood Stew

My favorite thing to serve with this classic dish is some crusty bread. Whether that be garlic bread, sourdough bread or garlic knots, it’s perfect for sopping up that delicious broth.

​If you want to add a little green to your meal, a salad will do the trick. A simple side salad pairs perfectly with this seafood soup.

Storage and Freezing

How to Store

You can store any leftover Italian seafood stew in an airtight container. It will last in the refrigerator for up to 3 days.

Can I Freeze Italian Seafood Stew?

I do not recommend freezing this stew. The texture of the seafood might not be the same when thawed.

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