COMMENT:
I first tasted Cioppino in Monterey, California, at the Sardine
Factory restaurant. The owner and my good friend, Bert Cutino, made
the dish from his father's original recipe brought to California
from Sicily.
INGREDIENTS:
- ¼ cup extra virgin olive oil
- 2 cups sliced onion
- ¼ cup sliced garlic
- ¼ cup tomato paste
- 1 cup Chardonnay
- 2½ pounds ripe tomatoes, peeled, seeded and chopped
- 1 cup yellow bell pepper, diced
- 2 tbsps chopped flat leaf parsley
- 1 tbsp minced fresh thyme leaves
- 1 bay leaf
- 3 cups bottled clam broth
- 2 cups chicken broth, low sodium if using canned
- ¼ cup fresh basil leaves, sliced
- 1 dozen fresh clams, in shell
- 1 dozen fresh mussels, in shell
- 1 pound large shrimp, peeled and deveined
- ¼ pound sea scallops, trimmed
- ½ cup red snapper or cod, cubed
- ½ pound jumbo lump crabmeat
- Kosher salt and freshly ground pepper to taste
METHOD:
In a large dutch oven heat, olive oil over medium high heat. Add
onion and garlic and sauté 3-5 minutes. Add tomato paste
and cook for 1 minute. Add wine and using a wooden spoon, scrape
up any brown particles in the bottom of the pot. Simmer until wine
is reduced by half. Add the ripe tomatoes, bell pepper, parsley,
thyme and bay leaf. Stir well into the tomato mixture and then add
the broths. Bring to a low boil, reduce to simmer and cook 30 minutes.
Add all remaining ingredients except crabmeat and simmer until fish
is cooked and flaky but not overcooked. Gently fold in crabmeat
and season to taste using salt and pepper. Serve in a large soup
bowl with a good mixture of the seafood and hot Italian or French
bread.
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