Lindy’s Cioppino is actually a combination of two of my favorite seafood stews, Cioppino and Bouillabaisse. While many of the ingredients are the same, many are not, so I picked and chose what I liked about each and put them together for this delicious filling fish stew.
12whole mussels or clamsor splurge and use both cleaned
12whole raw medium shrimpshelled and deveined, tails left on
½poundbay scallops
1Dungeness crabcleaned, broken into pieces and cracked or lobster cut into pieces, or other crab if you have a local favorite
1poundsnapperhalibut, cod or other white fish, cut into bite-sized pieces
Minced parsley
Instructions
In a large saucepan or Dutch oven, heat the oil; add the celery, onion, garlic, leek, fennel, thyme, and bay leaf. Saute 5 minutes.
Add the wine and reduce by half (about 3 minutes); add the tomatoes, clam juice, saffron, red pepper flakes, salt, and pepper. Simmer on medium-low heat for 20 minutes.
Add the mussels or clams (or both); remove them to a bowl as they open. This keeps them from overcooking. Discard any shellfish that do not open.
Add the rest of the seafood and cook until the shrimp is pink, scallops are opaque, crab is hot and the fish is cooked. Divide the shellfish between 6 heated bowls; ladle the stew over; top with parsley and serve with a loaf of good garlic bread. and a nice bottle of Zinfandel or Chianti. (In Italy many fish stews are served over a garlic crostini, you can do that too with this if you so desire).