Cioppino

The first time I heard of Ciopinno, I was looking through (of all newspapers) the Wall Street Journal. Who knew that they had recipes in a business paper? I have no idea where that clipping is now, but this seafood soup is AMAZING. Beware, it is NOT cheap to make, so make sure you really like the people you are preparing it for. Below is my adaptation. I think I have made it differently every time, but always turns out great. Any combination of seafood can be used, as long as it ends up being a variety and a few pounds. I live in the Midwest, so the fresh seafood selection isn't always the best. I resorted to using all frozen, prepackaged items. As a matter of fact, the one thing I purchased "fresh" (2 pounds of mussels), all but 4 of them were dead and I couldn't use them. I was sooo upset. They are sitting in the fridge waiting to go back to Kroger. Serve this soup with crusty sour dough bread with butter (of course) and a Caesar salad (click here for a tasty Caesar salad dressing).

Ingredients:

• 1 yellow/white onion, chopped
• 1 red onion, chopped
• 4 cloves garlic, minced
• 1-2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1/2-1 teaspoon of red pepper flakes
• 1 bay leaf
• 1/2 can (3 ounces) tomato paste
• 2 cans (29 ounces total) diced tomatoes
• 1 quart seafood stock (or whatever stock you have available)
• 1 1/2 cups of white wine
• 1 can of clams, reserve juice for broth (not sure of the ounces, but it was the standard sized Bumble Bee can)
• 1 can of crab meat, reserve juice for broth (not sure of the ounces, but it was the standard sized Bumble Bee can)
• 1 pound of mahi mahi or other sturdy white fish (Trader Joes sells a bag of mahi mahi already cut into chunks, very handy)
• 1 pound of calamari (sliced, if not already- leave tentacles whole)
• 1 pound of raw shrimp, de-veined and de-shelled
• 1 pound of scallops

Directions:
In a large stock pot saute the onion and garlic in the olive oil for about 5-8 minutes over medium heat. Add the pepper flakes and the bay leaf and cook for another minute or so. Add the tomato paste, diced tomatoes, seafood stock, wine, clam juice and crab juice to the pan. Bring to a boil, cover and then let simmer for about 30 minutes. Rinse all the sea packaged sea food before adding to the soup. Bring the heat back up to medium and add the fish. Cook for about 5 minutes and then add the rest of the seafood. Cook for about 3-5 more minutes. Season with salt and pepper if necessary, and serve immediately. If there are leftovers, they do reheat well the next day.