Fish Tales & Nancy’s Cioppino Recipe

Over the summer, the folks at Santa Barbara Dining & Destinations asked me to do a couple of recipes for their fall issue to accompany the “Ocean to Table” article. I had the pleasure of meeting with fishermen Steve Escobar and Stephanie Mutz over coffee to tell me about the local fishing scene and what types of fish they catch in the the Santa Barbara Channel. Apparently 90% of our local seafood gets shipped off to other areas ~ crazy! Both of them are advocates of educating people about sustainable seafood and encourage us to try out our local bounty. If you have a chance to pick a copy of the magazine you can read the article featuring Steve & Stephanie~ it’s great!

The first thing I decided to make was a Cioppino which I thought would be fun since I could include a variety of seafood. I figured it would be a nice hearty meal for folks to make at home during the coming months. Steve kept talking about how good fennel tastes in fish stew and that got me inspired. I’ve walked by piles of fennel at my farmer’s market for weeks and always been intrigued…here was my chance to experiment. I got my basic recipe figured out, shopped and schlepped all my stuff home from the farmer’s market, then I needed to call the fish market to see what they had on hand. Adan, the manager at SB Fish Market said he would help me, but I needed to come in at 12 noon to get the fresh catch of crab. WOW, great stuff when I arrived…black cod, salmon, sea bass, shrimp, crab, sea urchin all fresh from the sea. We talked and picked out my ingredients for cioppino and fish tacos. I was thrilled that they offered to clean all the shellfish on site–no nasty crab guts in my kitchen sink-YAY!

I had a great time cooking and my family loved it…which is saying A LOT because they aren’t necessarily big seafood fans. My son was still home from college and invited his best friend over for dinner who proceeded to have THREE helpings! He went on to tell me that he thought my cioppino was better than (Insert Popular Santa Barbara Restaurant Name Here) ! I’d tell you if I could, but I love going to this particular establishment and who knows what they’d put in my food if I dissed them publicly!!
SO darlings…here is my cioppino recipe-a labor of love and I’m quite proud of it. Not only did it taste great but I had the honor of being featured in the magazine–very cool.

The wonderful Stephanie Baker took the photos for Dining & Destinations, however the following shots here on the blog are my own. I “styled” the food with the assistance of Phil Janney & Stephanie Baker. Lots of fun and a great experience…and my family got to eat ALL the food!
Stay tuned…the fish taco recipe is coming soon.

Nancy’s Cioppino
Prep Time: 1½ hours
Serves 6-8

Ingredients:
¼ c olive oil
1 fennel bulb thinly sliced
1 large sweet onion finely chopped
3 shallots finely chopped
8 garlic cloves minced
1 ½ tsp red chili pepper flakes
2 bay leaves
½ tsp dried thyme (or 2 sprigs fresh)
1 ½ tsp sea salt
½ tsp fresh ground black pepper
1 green bell pepper finely chopped
2 TB tomato paste
1 cup water
1 ½ cups dry white wine
6-8 large tomatoes, blanched, peeled, & diced (OR 1 28 oz can of diced tomatoes w/juice)
1 8 oz bottle clam juice
4 cups fish stock (OR chicken stock-you won’t taste the chicken flavor!)
Seafood:
1 lb crab in shell – ask your fish market to clean it for you–they WILL!
1 dozen hard shell clams-cleaned & scrubbed
1 dozen local mussels in shells-cleaned
1 lb sea scallops
1 lb local shrimp, deveined & shelled-leave bottom shell/tail on
OPTIONAL: ½ -1 lb halibut, cod, or any white fish that is fresh & local. I personally prefer my cioppino w/o the extra fish.
¼ cup fresh basil & a few extra strips for garnish
Several sprigs Italian flat leaf parsley

Directions:
Sautee fennel, onions, shallots, garlic, chili pepper flakes, bay leaf, thyme, salt, pepper in olive oil in an 8-quart heavy pot over moderate heat, stirring, until onions are softened, about 5 minutes. Stir in bell pepper and tomato paste and cook 1 minute. Add water, wine and boil about 5 minutes. Add tomatoes with their juice, clam juice, and fish stock- simmer, covered for 30 minutes.

While cioppino is cooking, crack crab legs/claws through shell into 2- to 3-inch pieces with a large heavy knife or crab cracker.


Add crab, clams, & mussels to stew and simmer, covered until clams & mussels just open, 5 to 10 minutes, checking every minute after 5 minutes and transferring opened clams to a bowl with tongs or a slotted spoon. Add scallops,shrimp, and fish, wait until just cooked through, about 5 minutes. Discard bay leaves, return clams & mussels to pot. Stir in ¼ cup basil. Serve cioppino in large soup bowls, Garnish w/ fresh basil & parsley.
Please note, you may make the broth a day ahead BUT remember to add seafood just before serving.

Tagged as: bell pepper, black pepper, cioppino, clams, cod, crab, Dining & Destinations, farmer's market, fennel, fish, fish tacos, fishermen, Garlic, Halibut, mussels, Santa Barbara, SB Fish Market, scallops, Sea Salt, seafood, shallots, stock, sustainable, Tomatoes