Tags
Cioppino, clams, fish, fishsoup, mussels, seafoodstew, shrimp, valentinesdinner
Cioppino is a lovely, rich and delicious seafood and fish stew. It is a tomato based Italian – American favourite stew that was created by Italian immigrant fishermen. They originally made it on their boats with the leftovers of the daily catch. It typically showcases shellfish and white fish, but you can prepare it with any fish you love to enjoy.
Valentines day is fast approaching and this is a perfect entre to create for your special someone. Not only is it delicious, it is also super easy to prepare and the most beautiful thing is you can prepare the cioppino sauce ahead of time (up to 2 days ahead). So on the day of your dinner you simply have to add your fish and seafood to the sauce.
There are many ways you can serve this lovely stew. As shown in the photo below, I like to serve the hearty sauce over homemade pasta, with prawns, mussels, and a variety of fish. It is a little rustic but so gorgeous.
If you are looking for a more refined version, as shown in my the photo below, I have refined the sauce by simply blending it and then running it through a sieve to create a velvety sauce. Serve your poached fish on top of this sauce with lots of crusty bread to soak up that yummy sauce.
Cioppino or Seafood and Fish Stew
Ingredients
- 3 tablespoons Extra Virgin olive oil
- 1 large fennel bulb thinly sliced
- 1 large onion finely chopped
- 2 large shallots finely chopped
- 4 large garlic cloves finely chopped
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 – 2 teaspoon dried crushed red pepper flakes depending on your taste
- 4 tablespoons fresh basil (save 1 tablespoon for topping) chopped
- 2 bay leaf
- 1 pinch saffron
- 1 bunch parsley chopped
- 1 tablespoon fresh ground black pepper
- 1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
- 3 tablespoons tomato paste
- 1 28-ounce can whole tomatoes in juice
- 2 cups dry white wine
- 4 cups fish stock (can use vegetable or chicken stock)
- 1.5 pounds clams scrubbed
- 1.5 pounds mussels scrubbed and debearded
- 16 (16 – 20 count) uncooked large shrimp (prawns) peeled and deveined
- 2 pounds assorted fish fillets such as halibut or salmon cut into 2-inch chunks
- 1.5 pounds spaghetti pasta
- 1 loaf crusty bread
Instructions
Prepare your Ingredients
- Slice fennel into fine slices, chop onion, shallots, garlic, parsley, basil.
- Add 1 cup of warmed stock to a bowl, add a pinch of saffron and stir.
- In a bowl of water soak the clams prior to cooking.
- Scrub and debeard your mussels, then soak in a bowl of water.
Prepare the Cioppino Sauce
- Heat the olive oil in a very large pot or dutch oven over medium heat. Add the chopped fennel, onion, shallots, and salt. Saute until the onion is translucent, about 10 minutes.
- Add the chopped garlic and red pepper flakes, then saute 4 minutes.
- Stir in the tomato paste. Add the wine and fish stock and tomatoes with their juices. Add bay leaves. Add saffron stock.
- Cover and bring to a simmer, reduce the heat and simmer for about 30 minutes.
- If you are makeing the sauce ahead of time, then cool the sauce and store it in an airtight container. It can be refriderated two or three days befor your dinner. Or it can be frozen for upto two months.
Putting it all together
- Into the warmed cioppino sauce, add the clams and mussels. Cover and cook until the clams and mussels just begin to open, about 5 minutes. Add the shrimp and fish. Simmer gently until the fish and shrimp are just cooked through, and the clams and mussels are completely open, stirring gently (discard any clams and mussels that do not open)
- Season the stew, to taste, with more pepper, salt and red pepper flakes. Remove the bay leaves.
- Meanwhile, cook the spaghetti according to package directions or to desired doneness.
- Remove the lid and stir. Remove the shrimp, mussels, clams and fish to a bowl. Drain the pasta, reserving a cup of the pasta water. Add the pasta water to the tomato mixture followed by the spaghetti and stir through the sauce. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Add the chopped parsley, reserving some for garnish, and stir.
- To serve, add the pasta to serving bowls, spoon over the tomato sauce and add the shrimp, mussels, clams and fish. Garnish with parsley, basil and a drizzle of olive oil.
A Refined Cioppino
- If you want to have a more refined Cioppino, then with an emersion blender, blend the sauce, then run the sauce through a sieve.
- Ladle the sauce (and pasta if using) into serving bowls. Top with mussels, clams, prawns, fish.
- Garnish with parsley and basil.
- Serve with warm crusty bread.