Cioppino Recipe

Ingredients

Seafood

* 3 pounds halibut, sea bass, or other firm white fish, cut into
inch-long cubes
* 1 large (2 lb or maybe more) cooked Dungeness crab (hard shell) or even a
cooked lobster
* 1 pound (or more) of huge shrimp
* 2 pounds little neck clams, mussels, or oysters or seventy one

Sauce

* 1/2 cup organic olive oil
* 1 1/2 cups chopped onion (1 large onion)
* 1 cup chopped green bell pepper (1 large green bell pepper)
* 3 coves garlic, minced
* 1 teaspoon salt
* 1 28 ounce can tomatoes
* Broth in the mollusks
* 2 cups red wine
* 2 cups tomato juice
* 2 cups fish or shellfish stock
* An herb bouquet of bay leaf, parsley, and basil covered with a
layer of cheesecloth and secured with kitchen string
* Pepper and salt to taste
* 1/2 cup minced parsley for garnish


Optional seasonings: a dash of Tabasco sauce and or Worcestershire sauce
Method

1 Steam mollusks (clams, mussels, oysters) in a small amount of water
(with regards to a cup) until they just open. Schedule. Strain and reserve the
cooking broth.

2 If using crab, removed the crab legs from the body and rehearse a nut
cracker to compromise the shells so that the meat can be removed
once it's served (leave the meat inside shell). Break your body in
half, and then cut each half again into either halves or thirds. Keep
the most notable shell of the crab in making stock.

If you are using lobster, cut the tail in pieces and reserve the body
and legs to create stock.

Note you should use prepared fish or shellfish stock, or perhaps you may make
your personal. If you aren't making your personal stock, it is possible to discard the
crab top shell or lobster body. If prepared shellfish stock is not
available, I would combine some prepared fish stock (offered by many
markets, including Trader Joe's) with clam juice.

3 Split the shrimp shells down the back and remove the black vein.
(Observe how to peel and devein shrimp.) I ran across the simplest way to complete
this, without treatment of shell, is to lay the shrimp on its side and
insert a tiny knife into the large end in the shrimp, with the blade
pointing outward through the back (outside the shrimp and your hands).
After you have split the shrimp shells, you can turn the knife toward
the shrimp, and cut in the little to obtain the black vein. Take out the
vein around you are able to. You are able to probably also use a couple of kitchen
scissors to chop the backs from the shrimp.

Alternatively, you are able to shell the shrimps and devein them. Shell-on
imparts more flavor; shell-off is simpler you can eat.

4 Inside a deep 8-quart covered pot, sauté onions and green pepper on
medium heat in extra virgin olive oil until soft. Add the garlic, sauté 1 minute
more. Add tomatoes, broth from your mollusks, burgandy or merlot wine, tomato juice,
fish or shellfish stock, the herb bouquet, and pepper and salt to
taste. Provide a simmer and cook, uncovered, for 25 minutes. Remove
herb bouquet. Taste and proper seasoning.

5 Add the fish and cook, covered, prior to the fish is just cooked
through, about 3 to 5 minutes. Add the steamed mollusks, crabmeat, and
shrimp. Heat just until shrimp are cooked (just 2-3 minutes, until
they may be bright pink). Don't overcook.

6 Serve in large bowls, shells included. Sprinkle with minced parsley.
Serve with crusty French or Italian bread and a robust red. Have
plenty of napkins available, a few extra bowls to the shells, and nut
crackers and tiny forks for that crab.