Cioppino

A hearty seafood stew.  This is easily adapted to whatever seafood you have on hand. I used clams, shrimp, bay scallops, and halibut.  However mussels, crab, and squid can work very well in this stew also.  A must is to serve it with a nice crusty bread to dip into the base.

Ingredients Adapted from the Food Network

• STEW BASE
• 3 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 1/2 cups sliced onion
• 2 tablespoons minced garlic
• Kosher salt and freshly ground pepper
• 1/4 cup tomato paste
• 1 cup dry white wine
• 1 15 oz can of diced tomatoes
• 1 red bell pepper, trimmed, seeded, and diced
• 2 tablespoons minced parsley
• 1 tablespoon minced fresh thyme leaves
• 1 bay leaf
• 3 cups fish stock or 1 cup bottled clam brothmixed with 2 cups chicken broth
• 1/4 cup julienned fresh basil leaves

SEAFOOD

12 little neck clams

1 pound large shrimp

1/2 pound sea scallops, trimmed

1/2 pound firm fleshed fish, like halibut, cut into 1-inch cubes

Serving suggestion: hot crusty bread

Directions

Make the stew base. Heat a large stew pot or dutch oven over medium heat with the olive oil. Add the onions and saute until tender, about 5 minutes. Add the garlic, season with salt and pepper to taste, and cook 2 minutes more. Stir in the tomato paste and cook for 1 minute. Add the wine, and use a wooden spoon to scrape up any browned bits in the pot. Simmer the wine until reduced by about half. Add the tomatoes, peppers, parsley, thyme, and bay leaf and cook for 5 minutes. Add the stock or broths; bring to a boil, then adjust the heat to maintain a gentle simmer. Cook the base, with a cover slightly ajar, for 30 minutes. (The base may be prepared ahead up to this point, refrigerated for 1 day or frozen for 1 month).
Finish with the fish. Bring the base to a simmer. Add the basil and the clams, and cook covered, over high heat, for 5 minutes, or just until the clams open.  Add fish fillet, shrimp, and scallops. Cook, stirring frequently the shrimp curl, and scallops are just firm, about 3 minutes. Serve in large heated bowls with plenty of crusty bread.