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Phil DiGirolamo’s Famous Cioppino

Cooks' Note

Serve over pasta, if desired.

Recipe information

  • Yield

    serves 4 to 6

Ingredients

1 tablespoon olive oil
1 tablespoon unsalted butter
1 clove garlic, chopped
1 pound littleneck clams
1/4 cup dry white wine
8 ounces mussels, scrubbed
2 quarts Cioppino Sauce (recipe follows)
2 dashes Worcestershire sauce
Pinch of saffron threads
8 ounces medium shrimp in the shell
8 ounces cleaned squid tubes, cut into rings
8 ounces firm-fleshed white fish fillets, cut into 2-inch cubes
4 ounces bay scallops
1 pound lump crabmeat, preferably Dungeness

Cioppino Sauce

1/2 cup olive oil
2 medium onions, halved and thinly sliced
6 cloves garlic, chopped
3 bay leaves
1/2 cup chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley leaves
1/4 cup chopped fresh basil leaves
1 (28-ounce) can peeled tomatoes with juice, crushed by hand
1 (28-ounce) can tomato puree
1 tablespoon clam base without MSG (optional)
1 tablespoon brown sugar
1 tablespoon celery salt
Dash of Worcestershire sauce
Dash of ground cinnamon
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
Red pepper flakes

Preparation

  1. Step 1

    Combine the olive oil, butter, and garlic in a wide, deep pot over medium heat. Cook, stirring, until the garlic is fragrant but not browned, 2 minutes. Add the clams and wine, cover, increase the heat to medium-high, and steam until the clams start to open, about 5 minutes. Add the mussels, cover, and steam until the mussels just start to open, about 2 minutes. (Discard any clams or mussels that do not open.)

    Step 2

    Stir in the Cioppino Sauce, Worcestershire, and saffron, and bring to a simmer. Add the shrimp and simmer for about 5 minutes. Then gently stir in the squid, fish, and scallops, and simmer until they are all just cooked through, about 5 minutes. Gently stir in the crabmeat during the last minute or so of cooking time.

  2. Cioppino Sauce

    Step 3

    Heat the olive oil in a large saucepan over medium heat. Add the onions and sauté until soft, about 5 minutes. Add the garlic, bay leaves, parsley, and basil, and cook for 1 minute; do not brown.

    Step 4

    Stir in the crushed tomatoes, tomato puree, 3 1/2 cups water, the clam base (if using), brown sugar, celery salt, Worcestershire, and cinnamon. Season with salt, black pepper, and red pepper flakes to taste. Bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to medium-low, and simmer, stirring occasionally, until thickened, 1 1/4 hours.Remove the bay leaves before serving.

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