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Italian Cioppino Recipe


This is a recipe for San Francisco style Cioppino. Cioppino is a wonderful, hearty, Italian seafood stew. It is served with crusty sourdough bread to soak up all of the flavorful broth. Crab is the most popular ingredient but any shellfish may be used. Shrimp and fish alone are often used. However, if you use fish be sure it is a very firm type fish or it will disintegrate during the cooking.

Ingredients
* 1/4 cup olive oil or salad oil
* 1 large onion, chopped
* 4 cloves garlic, minced or pressed
* 1 large green bell pepper, stemmed, seeded and chopped
* 1 can (15 ounces) tomato sauce
* 1 can (28 ounces) diced tomatoes with juice
* 1 cup dry red or white wine
* salt to taste
* 2 bay leaf
* 1/3 cup dry italian seasoning
* 12 clams in shell, suitable for steaming, scrubbed (optional)
* 1 pound large scallops (optional)
* 1 pound large shrimp, shelled and deveined
* 2 cooked large Dungeness crab (about 2 pounds each), cleaned and cracked
* 1 pound any firm white fish such as Snapper, Grouper, Orange Roughy or Mahi Mahi (optional)

Directions
1. In 6-8 quart pan over medium heat, combine oil, onion, garlic and bell pepper. Cook, stirring often, until onion is soft.
2. Stir in tomato sauce, tomatoes (chopped) and their liquid, wine, bay leaf and italian seasoning. Cover and simmer on low heat until slightly thickened, about 30-40 minutes.
3. Add clams, shrimp, crab and any other seafood you have chosen (see note #2 below concerning shrimp). Cover and simmer gently until clams pop open and shrimp turn pink, about 20 minutes.
4. Serve in soup bowls with generous portions of sourdough bread on the side.
Makes 6 - 10 servings

Very Important Note: This dish requires you to taste and adjust as necessary. There should be a good quantity of liquid in the cioppino. If too dry, add water, but if the water thins the cioppino too much, add more tomato sauce and seasoning. The cioppino should be robust and flavorful with a strong oregano presence. If too bland, add salt and italian seasoning. Taste, taste, taste!

Important note #2: For a party you may need to keep the cioppino hot for long periods of time. Be aware that the shrimp will get rubbery and tasteless when over cooked. Therefore, you should reserve some shrimp and add more periodically.

Note#3: If you need to keep the cioppino hot for an extended period, keep it at a slow simmer. Do not allow to continue at a full boil.

Note #4: For larger quantities just continue doubling the recipe.

Note #5: You may freeze left over Cioppino for up to six months.





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