Cioppino

I love Cioppino, so yummy and so West Coast!  It's got great tomato flavor with a nice variety of seafood.  Clams, mussells, crab, prawns and fish are traditional, but the best part is that you can really make it your own with what you have on hand, and what ever you like best.  Even though I am not the biggest clams and mussels fan, I still love them in Cioppino!  I will admit that one of my single favorite parts about eating this is dipping some crusty sourdough bread in the broth.

This is a perfect thing to make when friends are coming over. So much can be done up ahead of time, leaving you relaxed and having a good time too.  If you're worried about the cost of all the seafood, ask each friend to bring a different kind and "chip in" for the cioppino.... oh, bad pun, eh?  If your friends bring some, it still works great since the dish finishes cooking so quickly after you add the seafood, so you could be eating soon after.

Serves 4-6

Ingredients:

1/4 cup olive oil

1/4 cup butter

1-2 ribs celery, chopped

½ bulb fennel, chopped

1 onion, diced

1 Tbsp garlic, chopped

1 can crushed tomatoes (28-oz)

2 cups clam juice or fish stock

2 cups white wine

1 lemon, juiced

1 tsp Worcestershire sauce

1 bay leaf

1 Tbsp fresh basil chopped, or 1 tsp dried basil

1 teaspoon dried oregano

1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes, or to taste

Salt and Pepper to taste

1 Dungeness crab (about 2-lbs), cracked and cleaned,
1-2 fillet of salmon, cut into 4 pcs
1-2 fillet white fish (halibut, cod, mahi mahi or tilapia) cut into 4 pcs
1 lb. prawns, peeled and de-veined

1 lb. mussels

1 lb. clams

1/2 bunch Italian parsley, chopped

Chop your veggies, make sure it's a small dice, so it doesn't complete with the seafood.  The sauce should only have a slight texture before you put the seafood in. Shown below is the chopped celery.

In a large pot, on medium-low heat, melt the butter with the olive oil and saute the celery and onions until soft, about 10 minutes.

Shown below is the sauce before I've simmered it for an hour.  It will be much richer and thicker soon.  Make sure that you HIGHLY season the broth, as it will be diluted by the the unseasoned seafood. I've noticed that it needs to be saltier and spicier than you think in order to be just right at the time you serve it!

NOTE:  You can add more water if the sauce looks too thick, but I recommend you add it AFTER you've added the seafood.  Adding all the fresh seafood will dilute the sauce with some wonderful seafood liquids!  

Add all the rest of the ingredients except the seafood and fresh parsley. Simmer on low, uncovered, for one hour. Taste for salt and adjust if needed.

Add the crab, shrimp, and halibut, and simmer covered another five minutes. Add the mussels and clams, cover the pot and simmer for 3 minutes more, or until the mussels and clams open. Turn off the heat, and stir in the Italian parsley

Ladle the Ciopinno into large bowls and serve with lots of sourdough bread and red wine.