Cioppino

For dinner Friday night, my mom showed me how she makes her Cioppino, which is basically an Italian seafood stew.  Most recipes I've seen use a variety of different fish and shellfish, but we only used shellfish because I'm not a huge fan of salmon or cod (which is usually the fish my mom adds in I think).  This is definitely a dish for a special occasion since the seafood can make this an expensive meal, but this turned out really good and the broth was to die for!  The broth was just so flavorful that I think next time I decide to make mussels mariniere I'm going to use this broth with it.

Ingredients:

1 green bell pepper, finely diced

1 cup shallots, diced

1 bunch scallions, chopped

3 tablespoons minced garlic

salt, pepper, and italian seasoning to taste

3 cans italian flavored diced tomatoes

1 can beef broth

1 jar of clam juice

1 cup white wine (we used a Savignon Blanc)

2 sweet italian sausages

3/4 - 1 lb mussels

3/4 - 1 lb bottleneck clams

3/4 - 1 lb shrimp, peeled with tail removed

3/4 - 1 lb sea scallops

Directions:

1.  Steam and brown the italian sausages until almost cooked through.  Slice up and set aside.

2.  Sautee onions, green peppers, shallots, scallions, and garlic until translucent.  Season to taste with salt, pepper, and italian seasoning (be generous with your seasoning).  Add the white wine and let cook down a bit.

3.  In a large stockpot, heat up italian diced tomatoes, beef broth, claim juice, and slice italian sausage.

4.  Transfer the sauteed onion and pepper mix to the stockpot and heat over medium heat for 45 minutes to an hour.  At this time taste the broth and season as needed.

5.  Sautee the shrimp and scallops (seasoned with salt, pepper, and garlic) in a little EVOO.  Be very careful not to overcook.  It's best to pull them off the head when they are just slightly underdone.

6.  When almost ready to eat add the bottleneck clams first, then mussels about 2 minutes later.  After clams and mussels open, stir the shrimp and scallops in the pot for just a minute and serve immediately.

We served the cioppino with crusty toasted bread on the side so we could use it to soak up all the yummy broth!

This was a great meal!  Just make sure the broth is seasoned the way you like it before you add any seafood in and be really careful not to overcook the seafood.