Cioppino Linguini

 

 Have you ever heard of a dish called Cioppino? It’s seafood stew from San Francisco that was originally meant to use up the extra sea critters that were accidentally caught in fishermens’ nets. From what I understand, it was originally served as a stew, but I’ve also seen it served as a soup along with some hearty crusty bread. Well, I thought, what if we make it into a thicker sauce and pour it over linguini??? That’s gotta be nothing but fabulous, right?? Now all I needed was an occasion to cook up all this wonderful seafood.
  AHA! I know.. I’l cook it for my gang of friends! Since we’re now all safe and healthy, and we can FINALLY have group get togethers, and since most of them have not seen my new house, this was the perfect time to try out my Cioppino idea. I made it an entire seafood night!  
Mini salmon cakes (which were a HUGE hit) and crab dip were my appetizers, and this linguini was the main course. I used a Tasty recipe as a base, and then just tweaked it ever so slightly…Served with a nice salad, and then followed up with carrot cupcakes and lemon trifle for dessert. I’m pretty sure no one was hungry by the time they left! And everyone LOVED the pasta.
 So whether you serve it as a stew, a soup, or poured over linguini, this is the dish you need to serve to the seafood lovers in your life. Definitely good enough for your next celebration meal!




2 large carrots, peeled
2 ribs celery
1 bulb fennel
1 large leek, rinsed well
1 onion
1 red bell pepper
1 green bell pepper
6 or 7 cloves garlic
1 tbs EACH dried oregano, basil, thyme leaves
2 bay leaves
1 6oz can tomato paste
1 bottle clam juice
3 cups white wine, divided
2 28oz cans crushed tomatoes (with water to rinse out cans)
A couple big pinches of salt
1-2 tsp (or more) crushed red pepper flakes
A dozen little neck clams
1/2 lb mussels
1/2 lb shrimp
1/2 lb large scallops
1 lb cod fillet


 Finely mince first 8 ingredients. (It's easiest to pulse everything in a food professor until almost pureed). Add a few tbs olive oil to a large pot over medium heat. Place minced aromatics in pot. Stir well. Let them cook for a good 10-15 minutes, stirring often, until they begin to soften.
Add oregano, basil, thyme, bay leaves, and tomato paste.
Continue to cook and stir for another 5 minutes.
Add clam juice, 2 cups white wine, and the canned tomatoes. Swirl each can about half full with water, add to the pot.
Add a big pinch salt and a tsp or two crushed red pepper flakes.
Bring the sauce up to a boil, then reduce the heat to a simmer. After it simmers for about a half hour, it's ready for the seafood, but you can let it go longer. (I let mine go for at least an hour). You can even go up to this point a day in advance. While your sauce is simmering, prepare your seafood.
Remove shells and devein shrimp. Keep cold. Set aside.
Scrub mussels and clams. Discard the ones with broken shells. If you see one that is open, give it a little tap tap with your finger. If it doesn't close, discard it.
If the mussels have a beard, just pull it off. Now soak the clams and mussels in a bowl of ice cold salty water. Let sit for 15 minutes. Do this two more times.
Keep ice cold.
Cut the cod into bite size pieces.
Now it's time to add the seafood to the sauce.
Shrimp and pieces of cod can be added directly to the sauce.
In a large skillet, place a little olive oil over high heat. Place scallops in hot pan. Sear on each side. Set aside. Add a little butter to the pan. Add the clams and mussels and a cup of white wine. Cover. Let stem for a good 10 minutes. Remove cover and dump the clams and mussels along with wine and butter into sauce. Fish out the bay leaves. Stir it all together. Let it simmer until all the seafood is cooked in the sauce. Taste to adjust seasoning.
Boil linguini to desired doneness.
Place in giant pasta bowl, pour sauce over all. Top with a little chopped parsley, if desired. Serve with lots of hearty crusty bread.


Tips:
I chose these kinds of seafood because they’re the ones I like best. Choose which ones you like! I’ve seen recipes where people add salmon, even squid. You do you! I bet a big ol’ crab leg or two would be heavenly. If you want to add more seafood than the amounts I've listed, go for it!
I found that adding about 1 tsp crushed red pepper flakes brings just the right burn to the dish… but if you want  it to be really spicy, feel free to add more.
I you’d rather have it as a soup or stew, just use an immersion blender to blend the sauce smooth before adding the seafood, and then skip the linguini. Frankly, I love all the chunky bits in the sauce, so I just left it as it was!