Celebration Cioppino
Happy New Year everyone! Today is a special day for so many reasons! Fresh starts, new beginnings, celebrations and my son Jacob’s Birthday! Every year he asks for the same dish and I very happily make it for him! Cioppino. Its a fabulous seafood stew which originated in San Francisco. Believe it or not this now fancy and elaborate dish was once considered a poor mans food because the ocean fishermen would make it at the end of their work day with the leftover seafood they had. The seafood and shellfish are nestled in a Garlicky Tomato and White Wine Broth which is to die for. I only make it once a year so when I do make it its extra special ! Check it out and let me know what you think.
Celebration Cioppino
Wonderful seafood stew nestled in a fabulous, garlicky tomato and wine broth. Such a special dish… a must have for your next special occasion.
Ingredients
- 1/4 cup good quality olive oil
- 8 garlic cloves diced
- 4 carrots diced small
- 3 celery diced small
- 1 large white or sweet onion diced small
- 1 leek sliced thin
- 1 fennel bulb core removed and diced
- 1 tablespoon sea salt
- 2 teaspoons crushed red pepper flakes
- 2 teaspoons ground black pepper
- 2 teaspoons oregano
- 2 bay leaves
- ½ cup white wine I used leftover pinot grigio
- 8 ounces clam juice
- 24 ounces water
- 1 pound can San Marzano Plum Tomatoes crushed with your hands
- 6 ounce can tomato paste
- 1 pound jumbo shrimp peeled and deveined
- 1 pound jumbo scallops
- 1 pound cod
- 1 pound mussels scrubbed and beards removed
- 1 pound clams scrubbed
- 1-2 king crab legs cut into 4-6 inch pieces
- 2-4 snow crab cluster
- 2-4 lobster tails
- ½ cup Italian parsley chopped fine
Instructions
- You will need a large pot! I used a huge seasoned cast iron pan.
- Heat the pan for a couple of minutes and add the oil.
- Proceed by adding the garlic cloves, carrots, celery, onion, leek and fennel.
- Cook on medium for 15 minutes. Stirring constantly until the vegetables are tender and begin to caramelize.
- Add the salt, crushed red pepper flakes, ground black pepper, oregano and bay leaves. Cook for 5 minutes.
- Raise the heat to high.
- Deglaze the pan with white wine. Reduce heat to medium and cook for 5 minutes.
- Add the clam juice, water, tomatoes and tomato paste. Raise heat to high and bring to a boil. Simmer for 5 minutes. Check the salt content, you may want to add more.
- Add the seafood making sure you submerge as much of it as possible in broth. Start with clams, mussels, scollops, shrimp and fish. Nestle the crab and lobster on the top. Cover (I used foil because I don’t have a lid for my giant cast iron pan) cook for 5 minutes on high mixing once or twice to make sure everything is cooked evenly. You can add more cooking time if your seafood needs more time. If your clams and mussels don’t open after 5 minutes toss them.
- Sprinkle parsley over the top and eat right away! Serve with some crusty garlic bread.
