Cioppino (seafood Stew)

Ingredients

• 3 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 large fennel bulb thinly sliced & diced
• 1 Onion chopped
• 3 large shallots chopped
• 2 teaspoons salt
• 4 large garlic cloves finely chopped
• 3/4 teaspoon dried crushed red pepper flakes (optional)
• 1/4 cup Tomato paste
• 2 15-oz cans diced tomatoes in juice (with italian seasonings)
• 1 1/2 cups Dry white wine
• 5 cups fish stock (vegetable or chicken can be substituted)
• 1 Bay leaf
• 1 pound clams scrubbed
• 1/2 pound mussels scrubbed, debearded
• 1 pound uncooked large shrimp peeled and deveined
• 1 1/2 assorted firm-fleshed fish fillets cut into 2-inch chunks
• 1 pound bay scallops