Chilean Seafood Soup

Ingredients:

3 Tbsp. olive oil
3 leeks, white and tender green parts only, thinly sliced
1 large onion, halved and thinly sliced
1 carrot, thinly sliced
2 garlic cloves, minced
2 green finger hot chiles, stemmed and sliced thin
3 tomatoes, peeled, seeded and coarsely chopped
1 red bell pepper, thinly sliced
1/2 tsp. dried oregano
1/2 tsp. paprika
1 bay leaf
3 cups bottled clam juice diluted with 2 cups water
1 cup Chilean Sauvignon Blanc
salt and freshly ground pepper
6 medium Yukon Gold potatoes, peeled and quartered
1 pound skinless Chilean sea bass fillet, about 1
24 mussels, scrubbed and debearded
12 littleneck clams, scrubbed
12 medium shrimp, shelled and deveined
1/4 cup minced cilantro or parsley
1/4 cup thinly sliced scallion greens

Instructions:

Heat the olive oil in a large enameled cast-iron casserole. Add the leeks, onion,finger hot chiles, carrot and garlic and cook over moderately low heat until softened but not browned, about 10 minutes. Add the tomatoes, bell pepper, oregano, paprika and bay leaf and cook, stirring, for another 3 minutes. Pour in the diluted clam juice and wine and season with salt and pepper. Cover and simmer over low heat for 20 minutes.

Meanwhile, in a medium saucepan, boil the potatoes in salted water until tender, about 15 minutes; drain.

Bring the soup to a boil and add the cooked potatoes, sea bass, mussels, clams and shrimp. Cover and simmer over moderate heat until the clams and mussels open; remove them with tongs as they are done. Continue cooking until all of the fish is cooked through, about 8 minutes total. Return the clams and mussels to the casserole and sprinkle with the minced cilantro and scallions and serve.

Adapted from a recipe in the October 1999 issue of Food and Wine Magazine.