FAB CIOPPINO

I’m just going to come out and say this…. I LOVE CIOPPINO

I’ve been eating it ever since I discovered what it is and have made it many times over ever since. Cioppino which is a seafood stew originating from San Francisco California, used the freshest fish and seafood that was caught that day. Steep it in some tomatoes & white wine and viola, you have an amazing dish for the seafood lover.

I think what I love about cioppino the most is that it’s pretty fool proof and always good no matter what’s happening. You more than likely already have half the ingredients you need for cioppino in your kitchen and when you get some crusty bread to dip in the rich tomato based sauce, its a meal worth eating.

FAB CIOPPINO

2 pieces of cod fillets, patted dry

1/2 pound of head on shrimp, rinsed, split, deveined & patted dry

1/2 pound clams, rinsed thoroughly 

1/2 pound of mussels, beards removed and rinsed 

1 bulb of fennel, cleaned and thinly sliced  + save the fennel tops for garnish

1/2 onion, peeled and small diced 

3 cloves of garlic, peeled and thinly sliced 

1 can of crushed tomatoes

1c. dry white wine

4T. of cold butter

1c. stock or water + extra

2T. sugar

salt

black pepper

smoked paprika, optional

oil

sliced + toasted bread for dipping

In a large pot, heat some oil over a medium flame. Add onions and garlic and sauté until soft and when soft, add in the fennel and cook for another 3-5 minutes. Slowly pour in white wine deglazing the pan for about 2 minutes and next add in crushed tomatoes and stock. Bring to a simmer and if the sauce gets too thick, add more stock if needed.

Season tomato sauce with salt and pepper, the sugar just to cut the bitterness from the tomatoes and smoked paprika. Here, you want to slightly over season the sauce because the seafood will begin to water the sauce down.

Next, slowly stir in the cold butter and additional stock if your sauce is becoming too thick. Turn down to a low flame and add in clams and cover with a lid for about 6 minutes. When the clams begin to open, next add in mussels and shrimp, slightly stir and cover again for another 6 minutes. Lastly, add in cod fish making sure it’s pushed down in the sauce and cover, continuing to cook until all shellfish has opened, shrimp have turned pink and the cod fish is firm and cooked through.

Serve immediately with some slices of your favorite toasty bread & eat fabulously!