Strega-Spiked, Licorice-y Seafood Stew

For National Licorice Day, I decided to make a licorice-y seafood stew with the licorice cousins: fresh fennel, fennel seeds, anise seeds. Whether you call it cioppino, ciupin, cacciucco, or buridda, I think this is a quintessential Italian seafood stew. It's made with whatever seafood is readily available; the flavor combinations are all very Italian. And just as every, and I do mean every, Italian dish is made differently by each Italian cook, here's my version...

Ingredients

1 onion, peeled and thinly sliced
1 fennel bulb, trimmed and thinly sliced
2 C fresh tomato sauce
6-7 C vegetable stock (or fish stock)
1 C dry white wine
3 bay leaves
1/2 t anise seeds
1 t fennel seeds
pinch of saffron
scallops
cod, cut into chunks
clams
splash of Liquore Strega, saffron liqueur (or use any licorice-flavored liqueur)
fresh oregano (I had a fragrant bunch from my WE Cooperative CSA!)
freshly ground sea salt
freshly ground pepper
fennel pollen

Procedure
Brown onions and fennel in a large stockpot with a butter and a splash of olive oil. Add anise seeds, fennel seeds, and a pinch of saffron. Cook till everything begins to soften. Add tomato sauce, vegetable stock, wine, and bay leaves. Stir and bring to a boil for 1-2 minutes. Reduce heat and simmer for at least 20 minutes.

Add and cook your seafoods. Once everything has cooked, stir in fresh rough-chopped oregano. Pour in a splash of Liquore Strega. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Garnish with a pinch of fennel pollen on each bowl.

Serve with a crusty bread. Pronto al tavolo!

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