Shrimp and leek stew

So, last weekend I finally decided to go through all my food magazines and pull out all the ones I wanted to make. And, thanks to my little helper, after a few hours (and a few good movies, the Pats game and several glasses of sangria) I was done, and I had a great pile of recipes to tackle (one of which is the post before this).

And after digging through recipes all day, I finally picked a few that I wanted to make, including this one which I got from Martha Stewart:

1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
2 pounds large shrimp, peeled, shells reserved, and deveined
6 sprigs thyme
1 cup dry white wine
16 ounces clam juice
2 cups water
1/2 stick unsalted butter
2 large leeks (white and pale green parts only), thinly sliced crosswise (about 2 1/2 cups) and washed well
1 large fennel bulb, thinly sliced (about 3 1/3 cups), fronds reserved for garnish
1 teaspoon whole fennel seeds, finely ground
Coarse salt and freshly ground pepper
1 cup heavy cream
1/2 lemon

Oh, and I decided to make some risotto with this too.

 first step- start the risotto, because this takes the longest time to cook.

 Next, start the broth.
Heat the oil:

Add the shrimp shells and cook for a few minutes

Add the thyme:

Then the wine. Be sure to scrape up all the good stuff that is stuck to the pan after you add this.

Next, add the clam juice:

And the water:

And simmer for about 15 minutes:

When the broth is done, strain it and save for later. Be sure to pres down on the shells so you get all the good juice out of them:

Now, I need to back up a step, and let you know that while the broth was simmering, I chopped up all the veggies:

Then I rinsed them and put them in bowls so they would be ready when I needed them:

Ok, now its time to start the dish.

Add the butter to a pot and let it melt.

Add the leeks and fennel, and gook on medium-high until they start to brown:

Then add the broth you made earlier:

And the cream:

And let that get hot.

Once the broth has heated up, add the shrimp:

And cook for about 5 minutes, or until they are all pink and fully cooked:

To serve, scoop some rice into a dish, add the stew, and garnish with some of the fennel fronds.

And I must say, this is one of the yummiest things I have made in a long time.
Simple, yet super delicious, and super flavorful.
I highly recommend you make it!

Oh, and if you make this without the risotto, and just dunk some nice bread into it, it will also be super awesome.