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IN ADVANCE Up to 24 hours ahead, wash the clams and mussels and discard any dead ones.
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Remove the small muscle from the sides of the scallops.
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If the scallops are more than 1/2 inch thick, cut them crosswise into 2 or even 3 disks.
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Shuck the oysters into a small bowl.
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Be sure to save any liquid that comes out of the shell.
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If the oysters seem gritty or have pieces of shell attached to them, roll them on a clean kitchen towel for a few seconds to pull off the grit.
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Strain the liquid.
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Combine the strained liquid and the cleaned oysters in a bowl.
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Reserve in the refrigerator.
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AN hour or two before serving, combine the wine, fish broth, and shallots in a 4-quart pot.
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Bring the liquid to a slow simmer and cover the pot with a tight-fitting lid.
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After the liquid has simmered for about 10 minutes, add the clams.
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Replace the lid and simmer the clams for 8 minutes.
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Lift off the lid to see if any of the clams have opened.
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If none have opened, cook them for a minute more and check again.
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Keep doing this until the first clam opens, then add the mussels.
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Cover the pan and simmer over medium heat for 5 minutes more.
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Keep checking until all the clams and mussels have opened; remove the pot from the heat.
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TAKE the clams and mussels out of the pot with a slotted spoon or skimmer.
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Let them cool slightly and pull off the top shells, leaving the clams and mussels in their bottom shells.
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If youre not serving the soup immediately, cover the clams and mussels with plastic wrap and keep them in the refrigerator.
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IF the broth used for cooking the clams and mussels seems sandy, pour it carefully into another container, leaving the sand behind, or strain it through a cloth napkin or a triple layer of wet cheesecloth (rinsed first to eliminate bleach or chemicals).
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Reserve in the refrigerator until needed.
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AT THE LAST MINUTE Just before serving, divide the broth equally between two 2-quart saucepans.
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Put the clams and mussels in one of the saucepans, cover it with a tight-fitting lid, and put it over low to medium heat for about 5 minutes, just long enough to reheat the clams and mussels.
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Bring the broth in the second saucepan to a simmer and add the shrimp.
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Simmer the shrimp for about 3 minutes, until they turn red, and add the scallops.
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Poach them for 30 seconds to a minute, then add the oysters with their liquid.
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Poach the oysters for 30 seconds.
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TO serve, use a slotted spoon to distribute the shellfish among wide bowls.
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Combine the liquid in the two saucepans and add the chopped parsley and the butter if youre using it.
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Simmer the broth for 30 seconds to cook in the flavor of the parsley.
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Grind in a little pepper and taste to see if it needs salt; it usually doesnt.
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Pour the hot broth over the shellfish in the bowls.
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Pass a basket of toasted French bread or serve individual slices on side plates.
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SUGGESTIONS
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This pot-au-feu is served with the flavorful broth that is the natural by-product of cooking the shellfish.
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By definition, the broth from a pot-au-feu is left alone except for garnishes such as herbs and vegetables and light seasoning.
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But if you want a richer broth, you can finish it with some heavy cream, whisk it into a full-flavored mayonnaise such as an aioli or rouille, or finish it with a vegetable puree.
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You can also make the pot-au-feu more colorful and substantial by arranging cooked vegetables with the shellfish in each of the bowls.
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VARIATIONS
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Combine the pot-au-feu broth with 1/2 cup heavy cream.
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At this point you can also flavor the broth with a pinch of saffron threads or a tablespoon of curry powder heated for 30 seconds in a tablespoon of butter.
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Whisk the pot-au-feu broth into 1/4 cup aioli or rouille in a stainless-steel bowl.
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Return the broth to one of the saucepans and heat it slowly to cook the sauce.
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Dont allow it to boil, or the mixture will curdle.
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The pot-au-feu can be converted into a summer stew by adding tomato puree or finely chopped raw tomatoes to the broth to give it more substance and an exciting flavor and color.
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For an elegant winter version of the pot-au-feu, add 1/4 cup heavy cream and the leaves from 1 bunch of watercress (cooked for 2 minutes in boiling water) to the hot broth.
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Puree the mixture for 1 minute in a blender and serve with the shellfish instead of the plain broth.
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GARNISHES You can add almost any single vegetable or combination to the pot-au-feu to make it even more colorful and substantial.
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Try a mixture of carrots, leek, and turnip julienne cooked for 10 minutes in butter; fennel wedges braised in olive oil; little French string beans cooked for a couple of minutes in boiling water; spinach, boiled for 1 minute; or mushroomswild or cultivatedsimmered in a covered saucepan with a little of the broth.
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You can also finish the broth with chopped herbs such as tarragon, chives, or parsley.
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Or try placing a few chervil sprigs over the soup just before serving.
