Recipe of the Week: Cioppino

Cioppino is a seafood stew that originated in San Francisco. There are no rules as to what you can include, so what I'm going to share today is a basic recipe that you can feel free to add to or change up.
And because we live in Indiana, my choice of seafood is limited to frozen fish and shrimp, and canned minced clams and crabmeat. I was fortunate to find fresh mussels the day we cooked this. So if you can, always use fresh seafood. It will make your cioppino taste so much better! The same goes for the herbs. Use fresh whenever possible!

The prep time for this recipe is around 30 minutes, but to have a more flavorful stew, be ready to let this simmer for at least an hour.


Ingredients
2 tbsp olive oil
1 onion, chopped
1 fennel bulb, chopped
4 cloves garlic, minced
1 green pepper, chopped
1 fresh red chili, deseeded and sliced finely
½ cup fresh parsley, chopped
2 tsp fresh basil, chopped
1 tsp fresh oregano, chopped
1 tsp fresh thyme, chopped
1 bay leaf
1 pinch of paprika
1 pinch of cayenne pepper (optional)
1 (28oz) can of crushed tomatoes
1 (8oz) can of tomato sauce
½ cup of chicken broth
1½ cup white wine, divided
assortment of scallops, mussels, crab, shrimp, clams
1 lb of cod fillets

Directions
Heat oil in a large pot over medium heat. Add onion, fennel, and garlic and saute until fragrant.
Stir in crushed tomatoes, tomato sauce, 1 cup of wine, chicken broth, paprika, cayenne pepper, and herbs.
Bring to a boil, cover and let simmer for at least 1 hour.
Add fish, shrimp, and scallops and simmer gently until fish and shrimp are cooked through.
Stir in ½ cup of wine, canned crab and clams.
Turn up to high heat.
When boiling, add mussels.
Cover and cook for 5 minutes or until the mussels open (discard mussels that do not open).
Ladle soup into huge bowls.
Serve with warm, crusty bread.