Cioppino - THE San Francisco Treat!

Last night as we were driving home from a relaxing walk on the beach we decided that we hadn't had enough crab this season so I am making a traditional Cioppino today! You can use a mix of different seafoods - just don't leave out the dungeness crab! Now I know we probably didn't "invent" this in SF, but it has been on menus here for a very long time. This recipe is adapted from Tadich Grill - a local tradition.

Cioppino serves 4

1/3 cup olive oil

1/3 cup butter

1 small onion chopped

1 medium carrot chopped

1 bell pepper chopped

1 leek chopped

1/2 small fennel bulb chopped

1 rib celery chopped

28 oz crushed tomatoes (I have mine canned from the summer!)

1 tablespoon tomato paste (I buy the tube so you can use small amounts at a time)

2 bay leaves

1/2 teaspoon each of dried oregano, thyme and basil

pinch cayenne

s&p

clove garlic chopped

1 small halibut filet cut into small pieces (or some firm white fish)

1/2 pound each of scallops and large shrimp

1 or 2 large dungeness crabs cooked, cleaned and cracked (I pick the meat out of the joints and then just put the whole legs into the stew)

about 1/2 cup flour

1 cup white wine

1/2 pound clams

Heat 1/2 of the oil and 1/2 of the butter in a large pot. (Save the rest of the oil and butter for sauteing the fish) Add all the chopped veggies and saute for about 10 min. or until soft. Add the spices and cook a couple more min. Put in the tomato sauce and paste and cook on low for a couple hours. I like the sauce to be not as chunky so at this point I use an immersion blender to make it a little smoother. In another large skillet heat the remaining oil and butter. Working in batches dredge the halibut, scallops and shrimp in the flour and then fry until golden in the oil. Add to the sauce along with the picked crabmeat and legs, cook another 10 min. on low. Deglaze the frying pan with the wine then add the clams, cover and cook about 5 min - throw out any that don't open! Add all this to the sauce pot, s&p to taste and serve in a large soup bowl with sourdough bread to sop up that sauce!

Post Note: since it was just the 2 of us I only had crab, shrimp and clams. It was kind of expensive; our fish alone cost about $28 - but if you tried to get this at a restaurant it would be at least that per person, and with the leftover sauce full of crab I'll be making a spaghetti tomorrow too.