Cioppino

savor posideons bounty with this flavorful, hearty soup

Tips

cleaning clams and mussels

Getting live mussels and clams can be daunting. As someone who only recently started dealing with these ingredients trust me its not as scary as you think. 

Clams: Once you’ve gotten your clams, rinse with cold water. Place cold water into a large bowl and place clams in there. The clams will “burp”; cleaning out extra sand that may be inside.

Mussels: Mussels can be treated the same way as clams, but will need extra before you use them. When you get mussels you’ll see what looks like brown seawood or algae around them. To remove this you’ll need to “debeard” them. To debeard mussels, firmly grab and tug until it comes off. This may be a bit harder than expected but it will come loose. Next, you may notice barncales on your mussels; these can be removed either with a thick bristle brush; or cooper/ steel wool pad (these pads should not have any soap or other cleaning products in them)

make ahead

The stew, without seafood, can be made 2 days ahead and stored in the refrigerator, covered. When ready to serve, bake the fish and bring the stew to a simmer before adding the seafood.

perfect pairing

Crusty sourdough bread, white wine, or olive gremolata. Grilled cheese if you’re feeling adventurous.

cioppino

Preparation Time: 30 minutes | Cook Time: 45 minutes | Serving size: 6

Gather

• ¼ cup, plus 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 2 cups finely chopped shallots (about 6 to 8 shallots)
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• 1¼ cup dry white wine
• 1 28-ounce can crushed tomatoes
• 2 cups seafood stock (16 ounces)
• 3 teaspoons salt, divided
• ½ teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
• 1 12-ounce jar roasted red peppers, chopped 
• ½ teaspoon dried oregano
• 1 tablespoon herbes de provence 
• 1 pound firm, skinless fish filets (such as cod, halibut or salmon), cut into 2-inch pieces
• 3 tablespoons unsalted butter
• 1 pound clams, scrubbed 
• 1 pound of mussels, cleaned 
• 1 pound extra-large raw shrimp, peeled and deveined
• Fresh chopped Italian parsley, for garnish

Follow

1. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Make sure the rack is in the middle position. Line a sheet with foil, and set aside. 
2. In a large pot, heat ¼ cup of oil over medium heat. Add the shallots and stir frequently, until soft and translucent, about 5 minutes. Add the garlic and stir constantly, for another minute. Do not brown.
3. Add the wine and increase the heat to high. Boil until the wine is reduced by about half, 3 to 4 minutes. Add the crushed tomatoes, seafood broth, 2 teaspoons of salt (or as desired), red pepper flakes, roasted red peppers, oregano, herbes de provence and 1 cup of water. Bring to a boil; reduce the heat and simmer, covered, for 25 minutes.
4. Cook fish: Drizzle fish with 2 tablespoons of olive oil and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Place on the foil-lined sheet and into the oven. Cook for 10 minutes or until the fish is just done. (This will be dependent on their size; I suggest checking at around 7-8 minutes if they are smaller.)
5. When the stew is done simmering, stir in the butter. Add the clams and mussels and bring the stew back to a simmer. Cover until the clams have opened about halfway, and then stir in shrimp and bring the stew back to a simmer. Cover and cook until the shrimp is cooked through and the clam and mussels are completely opened, about 5 minutes. Discard any unopened clams or mussels.
6. Divide the warm fish into serving bowls. Ladle the stew over top, dividing shrimp, clams and mussels among servings. Garnish with parsley.