Seafood Bruschetta Stew - cooking recipe

Ingredients

8 mussels, scrubbed
400 g small clams (a little less than a pound)
2 teaspoons butter
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 shallot, chopped
1 cup dry white wine
1/2 cup heavy cream
2 cups fish stock
1/4 teaspoon saffron, ground or 1/2 teaspoon saffron thread
salt and pepper, to taste
32 medium shrimp, shelled and deveined
8 small squid, cleaned and chopped into rings
1 red bell pepper, cut into small dice
1 tablespoon parsley, chopped
8 slices bread, coarse country style
1 garlic clove, sliced in two
olive oil, for drizzling on the toast

Preparation

Steam open the mussels in a tablespoon of water, pluck out the meat, strain the liquor through a fine filter and discard the shells. Repeat the process for the clams.
In a large skillet melt the butter in the olive oil, add the shallot and saute until golden. Add the shellfish liquor, wine, cream, fish stock, saffron and salt and pepper to taste. Mix well, cook together, and reduce a few minutes.
Add the squid, mussels, clams, shrimp, bell pepper and parsley to the skillet, and cook for a few more minutes over medium-low, until the shrimp and squid are cooked through.
Meanwhile, toast the bread, rub it with the garlic, and drizzle with oil. Place two slices on each plate or shallow soup bowl and ladle the seafood stew over the toast.
Buon appetito!