As lent is in full swing, Chicago Catholics are forced to set aside their carnivorous ways on Fridays and turn to the sea. Popular options include hitting your local Irish pub for a plate of fish & chips or even your favorite BYOB sushi joint. However that entails going out, fighting crowds and suffering through nasty weather; sometimes it is just better to stay home. So...what's a good alternative? How about a seafood stew? How about cioppino?
I was recently searching online for a good cioppino recipe with no luck. There are a lot of great recipes out there, but none were jumping out at me. I wanted something easy, flavorful and flexible. More importantly, I could only work with what seafood is available in landlocked Chicago (I realize we have a lake, but let's be realistic...we are not exactly a seafood haven).
Because of its flexibility of ingredients, cioppino is very fun to make. You can throw any combination of fish, shellfish and vegetables, easily adjust the spice of the dish. You can turn up the heat if you like it spicy, or keep it mild by simply adjusting the peppers and seasonings. I created the recipe below by combining the highlights of 3 or 4 other recipes. I hope you enjoy it!
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Cioppino (Serves 6 - 8)
1 lb Mussels
1 lb Cod or Other White Fish
1 lb Bay Scallops
1 lb Cleaned Squid; Bodies cut into ½” rings and the tentacles left whole
1 lb Shrimp; Shelled, deveined and tails removed
2 Cups Fish Stock (Whole Foods or homemade - I make my own and freeze it)
1 Cup Clam Juice
2 - 28oz Cans San Marzano Tomatoes; Peeled and crushed by hand
3 Tblsp Olive Oil
1 Leek; Thinly sliced - white and light green portions only
1 Shallot; Minced
2 Bay Leaves
6 Garlic Cloves; Halved
1 Fennel Bulb; Thinly sliced
4 Scallions; Thinly sliced
½ Cup Coarsely Chopped Fresh Basil
2 Tblsp Fresh Thyme; Chopped
2 Jalapenos; Seeded and minced
1 Tsp Crushed Red Pepper
Sea Salt & Pepper to Taste
In a large stock pot, heat the olive oil over medium-high heat. Add the garlic, leek, shallot, scallions, fennel to the stock pot sprinkle with sea salt and sweat until fragrant. Add the fish stock and cla juice. Add the tomatoes by crushing by hand in the stock pot and pour in all tomato juices from the can. Bring to boil. Reduce to heat to medium-low and simmer for about 30 minutes.
While the broth is simmering, scrub and debeard the mussels, chop the cod and clean and cut the squid.
After the broth has simmered add all seafood, cover the stock pot and cook until the seafood is cooked through and tender; about 10 minutes. Be careful not to overcook the shrimp and scallops. Season with salt and pepper.
Serve with slices from a French Baguette.
As I mentioned above, this recipe is extremely flexible. You can easily make this dish more exciting by adding little neck clams, dungeness crabs, blue crabs or even lobster.
I purchased most of the seafood for this dish at Isaacson & Stein Fish Co. at 800 W. Fulton Market. This is a no frills fish market that sells several different types of fish, shellfish, octopus, squid, crabs and lobster. The fish can be bought whole or filet and, if bought whole, they will clean, filet and remove the skin after you buy it for no extra charge. They will give you the leftover fish head and bones so you can make your own stock or soup. I even asked one of the associates how to clean a squid and he gave me a quick tutorial on the spot!
As I mentioned in my last blog post, I have been tweeting Fish & Chips reviews for lent each of the last two Fridays. I will continue to try different fish & chips joints around Lakeview and the rest of the city and summarizing my review in a tweet.
February 15: Diag’s Bar & Grill; 2856 N. Southport Ave.
“Diags on Southport: $10 AYCE fish & chips. Huge portions, the batter was so thick that it took away from the fish.”
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February 22: Four Moon Tavern; 1847 W. Roscoe St.
“$11.50 AYCE. Great neighborhood pub offering consistent and perfectly fried fish. Highly recommended!”
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