Try this Cioppino recipe, or contribute your own.
- 4 cloves garlic chopped
- 1 clove garlic chopped
- 1/4 cup chopped parsley
- 1/4 cup white wine
- kosher salt to taste
- black pepper to taste
- 1 tbsp. olive oil
- 2 tbsp. olive oil
- crushed red pepper to taste
- 2 bay leaves
- dash worcestershire sauce
- 1 tbsp. unsalted butter
- 1/2 lb. little neck clams
- 1/4 lb. mussels scrubbed
- 2 quarts cioppino sauce recipe follows
- 2 dashes worcestershire sauce
- 1 to 1 1/2 pound dungeness crab cooked, cleaned and cracked (to save time i bought 1/4 lb. cooked crab meat instead)
- 1/4 pound medium shrimp (shell-on if possible for more flavo
- 1/4 lb. squid tubes cut in rings
- 1/2 lb. firm-fleshed white fish fillets (i used pacific co cut in 2-inch cubes
- 1/8 b bay scallops
- 1/2 large or 1 medium onion halved and thinly sliced
- 1 medium fennel bulb halved, core removed, and thinly sliced
- 2 tbsp. chopped sweet basil
- 2 sprigs of fresh thyme
- 1 (14.5-ounce) can peeled tomatoes crushed by hand
- 1 (15-ounce) can tomato sauce
- 2 (8-ounce) bottles clam juice (16 ounce total)
- 1/2 tbsp. brown sugar
- Carbohydrate 11.6567493725877 g
- Cholesterol 92.96456460625 mg
- Fat 24.2900598820611 g
- Fiber 2.39260349839457 g
- Protein 13.0482660519547 g
- Saturated Fat 4.79213589626674 g
- Serving Size 1 1 Serving (305g)
- Sodium 129.46629179124 mg
- Sugar 9.26414587419312 g
- Trans Fat 1.30950894743714 g
- Calories 315 calories
Step-by-step
- Heat the olive oil in a large saucepan over medium heat. Add the onions and fennel bulbs and sauté until translucent.
- Add the garlic, bay leaves, parsley, basil and thyme, and cook, stirring, just to warm the garlic. Do not let it brown.
- Stir in the crushed tomatoes, tomato puree, clam juice, Worcestershire sauce, brown sugar, black and red peppers, and salt to taste.
- Bring to boil and skim off the scum and fat. Reduce heat to low-medium and simmer uncovered for about 45-60 minutes, stirring occasionally, until thickened.
- Put the olive oil, butter, and garlic in a large pot over medium heat, and cook, stirring, until the garlic is fragrant, but not brown.
- Add the wine and the clams, and cover. Turn the heat up to medium-high and steam until the clams start to open, about 3-5 minutes. Add the mussels, cover and steam until the just start to open, about 2 minutes.
- Now stir in some cioppino sauce, the Worcestershire sauce and bring to a simmer.
- Add the cracked crabs, if using, and the shrimp, and simmer for about 5 minutes.
- Add the fish, squid, scallops, and cooked crab meat.
- Gently stir in the rest of cioppino sauce and simmer until they are all just cooked through, about 5 minutes. Do not overcook.
- Serve in large bowls, shells included. Sprinkle with minced parsley. Serve with crusty French baguette. Enjoy!
A raw ingredient manifest rarely reveals the chemical evolution that occurs when tomatoes, clam juice, and aromatics reduce over forty-five minutes. Simmering this broth uncovered allows excess water to evaporate, concentrating the glutamates from the tomatoes and the salinity of the bottled clam juice into a robust foundational liquid. Skimming surface scum during this initial simmer prevents bitter impurities from masking the delicate sweetness of the fennel and onions.
Staging the protein additions prevents rubbery shrimp and overcooked fish. Shell-on shrimp and dense crab require a full five-minute head start in the simmering broth, whereas delicate squid rings, scallops, and cubed white fish need only the final five minutes of gentle heat to reach opaque tenderness.
Stretching this preparation into a second day yields an even deeper flavor profile as the seafood oils fully integrate into the tomato base. Storing the broth and seafood separately in airtight containers for up to forty-eight hours prevents the delicate flesh from becoming mushy, allowing rapid reheating in a fresh pot without prolonged cooking.
Reheating day-old broth requires bringing the liquid to a simmer before gently folding in the reserved seafood just until warmed through at 165 degrees Fahrenheit. Adding a splash of dry white wine during this reheat phase revives top-note aromatics that dissipate during overnight refrigeration.
