Spicy Seafood Couscous

Ingredients

• 3 small bay leaves 
• 14.5 ounce canned tomatoes diced canned
• 1  carrots thinly sliced
• 1  celery stalk thinly sliced
• 0.3 cup chili paste depending on your taste pref hot (such as sambal oelek*)
• 24 ounce bottled clam juice 
• 20 ounces couscous plain
• 1 cup cooking wine dry white
• 2 pounds fish fillets red assorted cut into 1 1/2-inch pieces (such as halibut, cod and snapper)
• 10 servings parsley fresh chopped
• 1.5 teaspoons thyme leaves fresh chopped
• 4 large garlic cloves chopped
• 12  littleneck clams scrubbed
• 1.5 pounds mussels scrubbed
• 3 tablespoons olive oil 
• 1 large onion chopped
• 8 ounces shrimp deveined uncooked peeled

Equipment

• bowl
• sauce pan
• pot
• tongs

Directions

1. Heat 3 tablespoons oil in heavy large pot over medium heat.
2. Add onion; sauté 5 minutes.
3. Add carrot, celery, and garlic; sauté 5 minutes.
4. Add tomatoes with juices and 1 bottle clam juice and bring to boil. Reduce heat; simmer uncovered 10 minutes. Cover and simmer 10 minutes.
5. Transfer mixture to processor. Blend to chunky puree; return to pot.
6. Mix in 2 bottles clam juice to make tomato broth.
7. Combine mussels, clams, and wine in another large pot. Cover and cook over high heat until mussels and clams open, about 8 minutes. Using tongs, transfer mussels and clams to bowl (discard any that do not open). Strain cooking liquid into tomato broth.
8. Place couscous in large bowl. Bring 2 1/2 cups water, 3 cups tomato broth, and 1/4 cup oil to boil in medium saucepan.
9. Mix into couscous. Cover; let stand until liquid is absorbed, about 10 minutes. Season with salt and pepper. Cover; let stand until ready to serve.
10. Meanwhile, mix thyme and bay leaves into remaining tomato broth in pot and bring to boil over medium-high heat.
11. Add fish. Cover and simmer 4 minutes.
12. Add shrimp; cover and simmer until seafood is opaque in center, about 4 minutes. Turn off heat.
13. Add reserved mussels and clams. Cover; let stand 2 minutes.
14. Mound couscous on platter. Top with seafood. Spoon some tomato broth over to moisten.
15. Sprinkle with parsley.
16. Mix 3/4 cup tomato broth and hot chili paste in small dish.
17. Serve couscous, passing chili mixture and remaining broth separately.
18. * Sambal oelek is available in Asian markets and some supermarkets.