Cioppino

Cioppino is a classic Italian-American fisherman’s stew originated in San Francisco by the Italian immigrants. The stew is simmered in a tomato broth just begging for some crusty ‘ol bread to dunk in. I love making this dish because it’s a restaurant quality dish that you can make at home in under 45 minutes. Your guests will think they died and went to Heaven…trust me! My version doesn’t involve a lot of steps so it’s perfect for the at home chef! I do cheat this recipe a bit and buy the mussels frozen at the grocery store. Typically their frozen in a tomato or garlic butter sauce  in a 1# package so I always buy the tomato version (make sure your mussels are thawed completely before making this dish.) If your buying fresh buy 1 pound of little neck clams and/or mussels (mussels should be scrubbed clean and beards removed right before cooking.) One other perk about this dish is it’s conversation friendly as it’s a dish you don’t rush while eating, it takes a little work to pull the meat out of the shell so make sure you have an empty bowl handy to put all the shells in. Kids really have fun with this because you have to use your hands and get a little dirty!

Cooks note: I also want to add that if you really like more of a “fishy” broth substitute  a 8 oz bottle of clam juice and reduce chicken broth to a half of a cup. The clam juice is more traditional in this dish. I didn’t because my audience isn’t a fan… the chicken broth is a bit of a tamer to the seafood.

Servings 4-6

Ingredients:

• 1 large onion diced
• 5 cloves of garlic crushed
• 1# of cod cut into pieces
• 1/2 pound of large shrimp deveined and shells removed, keep tail intact
• 1# of mussels
• 1 cup of a white dry wine such as Pinot Grigio, Sauvignon Blanc, or Chardonnay
• 1 cup of chicken stock (please read cooks note above if you wish to have a more fishy broth)
• (1) 14.5 oz can of fire roasted diced tomatoes
• 2 tbs of tomato paste
• 1 tbs of butter
• 2 tbs of olive oil
• 1/2 tsp of red pepper flakes
• 1/4 cup of fresh chopped parsley (plus extra for topping stew when serving)
• 3 sprigs of thyme leaves removed
• 4 large basil leaves chopped finely
• Salt and pepper to taste

Directions:

In a large pot begin by sauteing onions and garlic in 2 tbs of olive oil until onions are soft about 3-5 minutes over medium heat.  Increase temp to med-high heat and add wine. Reduce wine by 1/2 about 3-5 minutes, add tomatoes, chicken broth, tomato paste, herbs, red pepper flakes, and simmer for 15 minutes. Reduce heat and add all the seafood, let simmer covered for about 7-10 minutes until clams have opened and fish and shrimp are cooked through. Right before serving add 1 tbs of butter and salt and pepper gently stir in. Ladle stew into soup bowls and top with extra parsley. Please note not all mussels will open, discard any unopened mussels prior to serving.

Enjoy,

XOXOXOXO Jessi