Fog Valley Fisherman’s Classic Cioppino
Ingredients
Scale
Seafood:
- 4 fresh crabs
- 1 pound calamari rings
- 1 pound raw prawns
- 1 pound raw clams
- 1 pound raw bay scallops
- 2 pounds mixed sea bass, salmon, halibut chunks
Sauce:
- 2 onions, chopped
- 3 cloves crushed garlic
- 1 cup thinly sliced celery
- 1 finely chopped fennel bulb
- 1/2 cup chopped fresh Italian parsley
- 1/4 cup olive oil
- 4 cups stewed tomatoes (preferably home grown and canned or frozen) 1/2 cup tomato paste
- 1 cup clam juice
- pinch of crushed red pepper
- 2 cups of water
Instructions
Sauté onions, garlic, celery, fennel and parsley in olive oil in a sturdy stockpot over a medium flame until tender. Add tomatoes and paste, clam juice and crushed red pepper. Bring to a steady boil. Reduce heat and simmer for an hour or so. Add water to maintain volume of liquid.
Hold crabs firmly to remove the bodies from shell. Split bodies in half and crack legs. Add cracked crab, crab fat, clams, scallops and fish to the sauce. Simmer for a quarter of an hour at least. Add in calamari rings and prawns cooked in a separate pan for the last five minutes of cooking. When all the clams have opened, the stew is ready. Serve with fresh green salad and sourdough bread and a hearty red wine.
Such a delicious dish! Husband and kids adored it! I used halibut and doubled the fennel. Simple, elegant and sooooo yummy!
★★★★★