Seattle-Style Cioppino
Submitted by asdfgh
Seattle-style cioppino loaded with Dungeness crab, mussels, red snapper, shrimp, and calamari in a red wine sweet pepper sauce. A Pacific Northwest seafood stew that feeds 8.
YIELD
8 servingsPREP
35 minCOOK
1 hrsREADY
1 hrsSan Francisco may have invented cioppino, but Seattle put its own stamp on it with Dungeness crab and the bounty of the Pacific Northwest.
This version starts with a slow-simmered sweet pepper sauce: red and green bells, onion, garlic, basil, oregano, canned tomatoes, clam juice, and a generous pour of Italian Merlot, all cooked down for an hour into a rich, aromatic base.
Then the real show begins. Mussels, red snapper, shrimp, cracked Dungeness crab, and calamari rings all go into the pot in stages, each cooked just until done.
Ladle it into big bowls and put a crusty loaf of bread on the table. You’ll need it for the broth.
Chef Tips
- Add the seafood in order of cooking time. Mussels, fish, and shrimp go in first; crab just needs to heat through; calamari goes in last since it only needs 2 to 3 minutes or it turns rubbery.
- Scrub and debeard the mussels right before cooking. Discard any that are already open and won’t close when tapped.
- Make the sweet pepper sauce a day ahead if you want to spread out the work. It reheats beautifully and the flavors deepen overnight.
- Use the best red wine you can. If you wouldn’t drink it, don’t cook with it.
Ingredients
cooked, or other crab, cleaned and cracked, with body section cut into pieces *
Directions
Sweet Pepper Sauce: Heat olive oil over medium heat in a large skillet.
Add peppers, onions and garlic and sauté until soft, about 10 minutes.
Add basil, oregano, tomatoes and liquid, clam juice and wine.
Reduce heat and simmer, uncovered, 1 hour, stirring occasionally.
Keep warm.
Cioppino: Heat olive oil over medium-high heat in a large Dutch oven or kettle.
Add yellow pepper, onion and garlic and sauté until soft, about 5 minutes.
Add tomato and lemon juice and cook 2 minutes.
Add mussels, clams, fish and shrimp.
Cover and cook over medium heat 5 minutes.
Add crab and Sweet Pepper Sauce.
Cover and simmer 5 minutes. Stir in calamari.
Cover and cook 2 to 3 minutes longer or until calamari is opaque throughout, shrimp is pink and opaque, fish is cooked through, crab is hot and mussels and clams have opened.
Discard any unopened mussels or clams.
Serve cioppino in tureen or large soup bowls, dividing various ingredients among the bowls.
Comments