Seafood Stew or Cioppino
Seafood Stew or “Cioppino”
Serves 4-6 people
3 1 ½ pound lobsters, cleaned
1 pound mussels, cleaned
1 pound manilla clams, cleaned
1 pound large shrimp, cleaned and deveined
1 ½ pounds of fish (salmon/halibut work best!), diced medium
1 pound calamari, cleaned
½ cup extra virgin olive oil
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 ½ cups onion, chopped
1 cup bell pepper, chopped
2 cups red wine
1 28-ounce can crushed tomatoes
2 quarts tomato juice
2 quarts fish stock or shellfish stock
Bouquet garni of bay leaf, parsley, and basil wrapped in a layer of cheesecloth and secured with kitchen string
Salt and pepper, to taste
1/2 cup minced parsley, for garnish
Method:
Cook lobsters in boiling, salted water for 4-6 minutes. Cool in ice bath. Drain and split. Set aside.
Steam mollusks (clams and mussels) in a small amount of water (about two cups) until they just open. Strain and reserve the cooking broth. Set mollusks aside.
Split shrimp shells down the back and remove black vein. The easiest way to do this without removing the shell is to lay the shrimp on its side and insert a small knife into the large end of the shrimp with the blade pointing outward from the back (away from the shrimp and your hands).
Once all seafood is clean, preheat a large saucepan on medium-hig heat, lightly coat bottom of pan with olive oil, and add garlic, onion, and bell pepper. Allow to saute for 3-4 minutes until all ingredients become aromatic.
Add red wine and allow to reduce by half. Then add broth from mollusks, tomatoes, tomato juice, fish or shellfish stock, and bouquet garni and bring to a boil.
Now add shellfish and seafood and allow to simmer for 5 minutes, adding water if needed. Adjust seasoning with salt and pepper, and garnish with parsley.
