Thinking Orange…There’s Orange in My Cioppino


Cioppino 2

Adapted version of Ellie Krieger’s Cioppino
adapted from The Washington Post – Link to Ellie’s below my adapted recipe
Serves 4

INGREDIENTS – yes a lengthy list, but prep early and it all can be finished and served in less than an hour
Seafood:
1 dozen littleneck clams, cleaned
6 + large shrimp peeled and deveined
8 + scallops
dollops of crabmeat for each bowl or
*optional crab legs, snow or king

For the Broth:
1 tablespoon EVOO
1 leek, white and light green parts, halved and thinly sliced
1/4 fennel bulb, halved again and thinly sliced
3 small orange and red baby peppers thinly sliced
1 small jalapeño minced
1 rib of celery, halved and thinly sliced
3 cloves minced garlic
1/2 small carrot, grated
1/2 tablespoon tomato paste
zest of 1 clementine orange and the juice of 2 clementines
1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
2 small fresh bay leaves
pinches of red pepper flakes
*optional pinches of seafood seasoning
*optional sausage seasoning or fennel dust
salt & pepper
1 cup white wine
2 1/2 cups homemade or no-salt-added fish stock (shrimp stock or clam juice. I used both)
*1 cup Zing Zang’s Bloody Mary Mix…more to thin both if you like a thinner broth and a my note is to steam the clams open in a pan using the Zing Zang’s

Sauté all of the vegetables in the olive oil for about 3-4 minutes, stir in the tomato paste and deglaze with white wine. Add all of the canned tomatoes and juices, pinches of red pepper flakes and seasonings.

Simmer for about 20-30 minutes and taste. Add the seafood according to their individual cooking times as in the shrimp takes a minute or so in piping hot broth, crab legs will take about 5 minutes to heat through, a piece of 1 inch thick fish might take 4-5 minutes, and clams take about 3 minutes so with that in mind, I suggest steaming the clams in another small pan in some of the broth while the fish is heating in the pot…

*Optional lump crab meat into each bowl
2 teaspoons chopped fresh parsley or fennel fronds or caramelized fennel for garnish…
*if you make caramelized fennel, reserve the fennel in a small bowl and use the pan for steaming clams

http://www.washingtonpost.com/pb/recipes/cioppino/14319/