As requested by Hazel, here's the recipe for Cioppino. You don't have to exactly follow. Play with the recipe. For example, I don't use crab legs but just crab meat - real ones. When I make the tomato based sauce, I use sauteed fennel bulbs too. That adds the sweetness. There's a suggestion to serve with sourdough bread as what Italians do but I serve it with RICE!
The Cioppino I cooked one of the parties we had.
Ingredients:
4 large garlic cloves, minced
2 medium onions, finely chopped
1 Turkish bay leaf or 1/2 California bay leaf
1 teaspoon dried oregano, crumbled
1 teaspoon dried hot red pepper flakes
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
1/4 cup olive oil
1 green bell pepper, cut into 1/4-inch dice
2 tablespoons tomato paste
1 1/2 cups dry red wine
1 (28- to 32-oz) can whole plum tomatoes, drained, reserving juice, and chopped
1 cup bottled clam juice
1 cup chicken broth
1 (1-lb) king crab leg, thawed if frozen
18 small (2-inch) hard-shelled clams (1 1/2 lb) such as littlenecks, scrubbed
1 lb skinless red snapper or halibut fillets, cut into 1 1/2-inch pieces
1 lb large shrimp (16 to 20), shelled (tails and bottom segment of shells left intact) and deveined
3/4 lb sea scallops, tough muscle removed from side of each if necessary
1/4 cup finely chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
3 tablespoons finely chopped fresh basil
Garnish: shredded fresh basil leaves and small whole leaves
Accompaniment: focaccia or sourdough bread
Preparation
Cook garlic, onions, bay leaf, oregano, and red pepper flakes with salt and pepper in oil in an 8-quart heavy pot over moderate heat, stirring, until onions are softened, about 5 minutes. Stir in bell pepper and tomato paste and cook, stirring, 1 minute. Add wine and boil until reduced by about half, 5 to 6 minutes. Add tomatoes with their juice, clam juice, and broth and simmer, covered, 30 minutes. Season with salt and pepper.
While stew is simmering, hack crab leg through shell into 2- to 3-inch pieces with a large heavy knife. Add crab pieces and clams to stew and simmer, covered, until clams just open, 5 to 10 minutes, checking every minute after 5 minutes and transferring opened clams to a bowl with tongs or a slotted spoon. (Discard any unopened clams after 10 minutes.) Lightly season fish fillets, shrimp, and scallops with salt and add to stew, then simmer, covered, until just cooked through, about 5 minutes. Discard bay leaf, then return clams to pot and gently stir in parsley and basil.
Serve cioppino immediately in large soup bowls.
Cooks' note:
• The stew — without seafood — can be made 1 day ahead. Cool, uncovered, then chill, covered. Bring to a simmer before adding seafood.
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