BEST SEAFOOD CIOPPINO RECIPE RECIPES

Steps:

• Heat oil in a large pot over medium heat. Add fennel and shallots and cook until soft and translucent, 6 minutes. Add garlic, oregano, and red pepper flakes and season with salt and pepper. Cook until fragrant, 1 minute more.
• Add wine and let boil until reduced by half, 3 to 5 minutes, scraping up browned bits with a wooden spoon. Add tomatoes, clam juice, water, bay leaves, and orange zest (if using). Stir to combine, bring to a low simmer, and cook, stirring occasionally, for 20 minutes. 
• Remove bay leaves and orange zest. Add clams to simmering broth, cover, and cook for 5 minutes. Uncover, add mussels in an even layer, then shrimp, then halibut. Do not stir. Cover again and cook for 5 more minutes, or until all clams and mussels are opened and shrimp and fish is cooked through and opaque. Discard any unopened mussels and clams. Season with salt and pepper to taste.
• To serve, ladle soup into bowls and top with fennel fronds and chopped parsley. Serve with baguette and lemon wedges on the side.

Steps:

• Cook garlic, onions, bay leaf, oregano, and red pepper flakes with salt and pepper in 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, stirring, 1 minute. Add wine and boil until reduced by about half, 5 to 6 minutes. Add tomatoes with their juice, clam juice, and broth and simmer, covered, 30 minutes. Season with salt and pepper.
• While stew is simmering, hack crab leg through shell into 2- to 3-inch pieces with a large heavy knife. Add crab pieces and clams to stew and simmer, covered, until clams 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. (Discard any unopened clams after 10 minutes.) Lightly season fish fillets, shrimp, and scallops with salt and add to stew, then simmer, covered, until just cooked through, about 5 minutes. Discard bay leaf, then return clams to pot and gently stir in parsley and basil.
• Serve cioppino immediately in large soup bowls.