Cioppino

So, cioppino. A seafood soup from Fisherman's Wharf, the original San Francisco treat (forget that rice-a-roni stuff). There are two origins of the name, one is a bastardization of the Italian seafood soup "ciuppin". The other is when the fishermen would come back with their catches, and someone would start a soup for dinner and the fishermen would "chip in, no?" (which is how I remember how it's pronounced). Either way, it's tasty and very messy. Frozen seafood is okay, fresh is better (Costco's selection is excellent), clams and shrimp are probably the least expensive, and ultimately, it's whatever you like. The recipe I adapted is from here.

Makes 4 dinner size portions
Prep Time: 30 minutes

Cook Time: 1 hour

Total Time: 1 hour, 30 minutes

Ingredients:

1/4 cup olive oil
1/4 cup butter
2 ribs celery, chopped
1 onion, diced
1 can crushed tomatoes (28 oz)
2 cups clam juice or fish stock (or substitute chicken or veggie broth)
2 cups chicken or veggie broth or water
4 cloves crushed or minced garlic equivalent
1/2 lb baby or 2-3 gold potatoes, cubed into 1" chunks (optional, but nice to stretch it out if you are lacking seafood or want it to be a little more "full")
1 lemon, juiced or 2 tbsps lemon juice
2 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce
2 bay leaves
2 teaspoons dried basil
2 teaspoons dried oregano
1 teaspoon red pepper flakes, or to taste
2 teaspoons salt
1 teaspoon ground pepper

3-5 lbs seafood, my breakdown is usually something like this:

     1 Dungeness crab (about 2-lbs), cracked and cleaned (save the shells)

     1 to 1 1/2 lbs pounds a white fish (halibut, cod, etc), skinned and cut into 1" chunks
     1 to 1 1/2 lbs large prawns, peeled and de-veined (I like the kinds with heads and save the shells)
     1-2 lbs mussels and/or clams; soaked, scrubbed and debearded

     Other options are squid, scallops, salmon, snapper, cockles, oysters, canned clams or basically anything you want.

1/2 bunch Italian parsley, chopped for garnish, but it does add a nice crunch at the end
lemons
sourdough bread

Preparation:

Clean seafood. Combine soft parts of crab shells, and shrimp heads and shells into a saucepan, cover with water and simmer until shrimp shells are spent and soft. Drain out shells and save broth.

Meanwhile in a large pot, melt the butter with the olive oil and saute the celery and onions until soft. Add crushed tomatoes, all broths (fish stock, canned, and chicken), garlic, potatoes, lemon juice, Worcestershire sauce, and all spices. Simmer on low for one hour. Add more chicken stock if it gets thick (should be stew-like)

Add the crab, shrimp, and fish, and simmer another five minutes. Add the shellfish, cover the pot and simmer for 5 minutes more, or until the mussels and/or clams open and fish is tender. Serve hot with parsley and lemons and lots and lots of sourdough bread.