Recipe - Mexican Seasoning

One fourth cup Olive oil
1 cup Sliced leeks; white part
only
2 Serrano chiles; seeded and
minced , up to 3
8 Garlic cloves; minced
2 tablespoon Achiote
4 cup Chicken stock
3 md Zucchini; minced
3 cup Tomato concasse; (recipe
follows)
Kosher salt
Black pepper in a mill
8 ounce Small dried pasta; such as
tripolini, farfalline or
small shells
1 cup Cilantro sauce; (recipe
follows)
1 pound Medium shrimp; peeled and
deveined
1 pound Fish fillets; such as
snapper, cut into 1inch
cubes
1 pound Fresh mussels or 2 pounds
manila clams or cockles in
the shell; scrubbed
1 Lime; cut into wedges

Heat the olive oil in a large heavy pot over medium heat. Add the leeks and
serranos, using 3 serranos for more heat, and saute them until they are
soft and fragrant, about 15 minutes. Add the garlic, and saute for 2
minutes more. Break up the achiote with your fingers, and place it in a
small bowl. Stir in enough stock to make a paste. Add the achiote paste and
the rest of the stock to the leek mixture. Add the zucchini and tomato
concasse, and simmer for 10 minutes. Season with salt and pepper.

While the vegetables are cooking, cook the pasta separately until it is
just barely done. Drain and rinse the pasta, toss it with 2 tablespoons of
the cilantro sauce, and set it aside.

Add the seafood to the vegetables, cover the pot, and simmer for 5 minutes.
Remove the pot from the heat. Divide the pasta among heated soup bowls and
then ladle the stew over it, being sure that each serving gets each type of
seafood. Top each portion with a spoonful of cilantro sauce. Serve
immediately, with a lime wedge and with the remaining cilantro sauce on the
side.

Yield: 4 to 6 servings

Notes: Recipe courtesy of Michele Jordan, California Home Cooking

Recipe by: Cooking Live Show #CL9069

Posted to MCRecipe Digest by "Angele and Jon Freeman"
jfreeman@comteck.com on Apr 4, 1998