Cioppino

Prepared for the Catalina Offshore Product/Specialty Produce Kitchen Collaborative on 1.24.10, Featuring Chef Julie Frans

Ingredients

• 1/4 c olive oil
• 2 medium onions. diced
• 1 bunch scallions, chopped
• 1 green pepper, diced
• 1/2 bulb fennel, diced
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 qt fish stock or chicken stock
• 3 cans italian tomatoes
• 1 c dry white wine
• 2 bay leaves
• salt and pepper to taste
• 2 lb assorted white firm flesh fish (swordfish, halibut, snapper, cod)
• 8-10 little neck clams
• 1 c dungeness crab
• 15-20 medium shrimp
• 1 T chopped fresh basil
• 8-10 slices Sourdough Bread

Preparation

Heat the oil in a large soup pot. Add the onions, scallions, peppers, and fennel, and saute until the onions are translucent. Add the garlic and continue to saute until the aroma becomes apparent. Be careful not to brown or burn the garlic.  Add the white wine and cook until reduced by half. Add the stock, tomatoes, and bay leaves. Cover the pot and simmer slowly for about 45 minutes, adding more water if necessary to maintain a fair amount of broth. Remove and discard the bay leaves. Add the clams and simmer about 10 minutes. Add the shrimp and fish and simmer until the fish is cooked through and flakes easily. Add the crab and the basil, adjust the salt and pepper as needed. During the final 15-20 minutes of cooking, rub the slices of bread with olive oil and the cut side of a garlic clove and toast lightly in the oven. To serve put one of the bread slices in the bowl and ladle the stew over it. Accompany with a dry white wine.