Cioppino Ingredients
In my blog last Friday I mentioned that the last Friday in Lent was almost upon us and I had so many dishes I still wanted to prepare/sample. After careful consideration George and I decided that Cioppino was the dish to close out the Lenten fish season. So tonight I will prepare Cioppino.
I first sampled Cioppino in San Francisco. One taste was all it took to make me a big fan. This is really a fisherman’s dish, nothing fancy. Basically fish cooked in tomato sauce. I understand it originated on the wharves of San Francisco when the fishermen of Italian descent would throw all of their scraps into a pot of tomato sauce (aka gravy). Don’t know how true that is but who cares, it tastes great. So here’s my recipe for 2 people:
- 3 lbs Roma tomatoes – chopped (we like our sauce chunky. You can make a finer sauce if you like.)
- Olive Oil – to saute the onion and garlic
- 2 cloves garlic
- 1 small onion, diced
- 1 pinch oregano
- 1 bay leaf
- 1 pinch sage
- 1 Tbl tomato paste
- 1/4 cup water
- salt and pepper to taste
- 1 king crab leg
- 12 mussels
- 12 raw shrimp, shelled and deveined
- 4 sea scallops
- 1/2 to 3/4 lb of firm flesh fish cut into chunks – a cod or snapper works well
- Saute the onions and the garlic in olive oil until soft. Add the herbs and allow to cook 5 minutes. Add tomatoes, tomato paste, water, salt, pepper, and simmer for one hour. Just before serving, add the seafood to the sauce and cook for about 5 minutes or until the mussels open. Serve in bowls with french bread. The sauce can be made ahead of time but it goes so fast you really don’t need to . I serve this with the previously mentioned French bread and a nice Pinot Grigo – except for George who will drink Merlot.
Not a bad way to end meatless Friday’s!
A Word from the Bird 