Three curators from the Columbia Pacific Heritage Museum stopped by for a quick lunch and a discussion about the international artist Kenneth Callahan, who retired to Long Beach more than 50 years ago.

He remained a prolific painter until his death in 1986 and a friend of the family. A seafood stew made with local bounty is a special dish for lunch or dinner. I feel anyone can follow this recipe and be successful.

With a nice piece of leftover salmon from the previous night and a batch of frozen shrimp, I thought of a nice seafood creation and planned a quick stew. Sprigs of fresh fennel had survived the cold front and there were a couple of beautiful peppers and a leftover eggplant in the fridge.

Voila! We were ready.

Seafood stew

Ingredients

• 16 shrimp, medium-sized

• 6 ounces salmon, cooked

• One onion, medium-sliced

• Three heads of garlic, minced

• One-half eggplant, small diced

• One-half red bell pepper and one-half yellow

• 1 cup mushrooms, thinly sliced

• One large tomato, medium sliced

• 2 cups marinara or tomato sauce

• 1 cup white wine

• 2 cups vegetable stock, with fresh ginger and turmeric

• 1/4 cup heavy cream

• 1/4 cup coconut cream

• 1 level teaspoon of red chili flakes

• 2 tablespoons chopped garden fennel

• 1/4 cup olive oil

• 2 tablespoons tamarind paste (optional)

• 1/2 tablespoon red curry paste (optional)

Preparation

Saute the onion, garlic and chili flakes in the olive oil until golden. Add in eggplant, mushrooms and bell peppers. Cook for one minute and deglaze with wine. Then, add the sliced tomatoes, tomato sauce and stock and simmer for five minutes.

Blend in cream and coconut milk — you may choose to use all coconut milk and no cream — and stir in the tamarind and curry paste if desired. Add chopped fennel, salt and pepper to taste. Just before the stew boils, drop in the seafood. Place a lid over the top and turn down the heat so that the stew simmers gently. It’s important not to overcook the seafood.

I also dropped a scoop of cooked rice into the middle of each bowl and garnished each with a dollop of creme fraiche and a sprig of fennel. Once prepared, serve within a couple of minutes.

A dry sauvignon blanc pairs perfectly with this meal. Buttermilk biscuits made by my wife, Laurie, were served along with a very small cup of her coleslaw.