Cioppino

Yesterday for my birthday I cooked Cioppino, a seafood stew apparently created right here in San Francisco. People looked askance at me when I told them I cooked for my birthday; I guess the general feeling is that one should avoid cooking on one’s birthday. The key thing to understand is that I cooked what I wanted. Gabriel tried it and decided he liked everything but the clams. Even Erika ate it, despite the presence of tomatoes.

I adapted it from our trusty Better Homes and Gardens Cookbook.

8 clams
8 oz. fish fillets (I used lingcod)
8 oz. peeled and deveined shrimp
½ cup sliced fresh mushrooms
½ cup green bell pepper
½ cup chopped onion
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 tablespoon garlic, minced
1 14 ½ oz. can diced tomatoes
1/3 cup white wine
2 tablespoons fresh parsley, chopped
2 tablespoons tomato paste
1 tablespoon lemon juice
½ teaspoon dried basil
½ teaspoon dried oregano
1 teaspoon sugar
1/8 teaspoon crushed red pepper
¼ cup water
¼ teaspoon salt

Cut fish into 1½ inch pieces and refrigerate until needed.

In a large saucepan cook mushrooms, sweet pepper, onion, and garlic in hot oil till tender but not brown. Stir in undrained tomatoes, wine, parsley, tomato paste, lemon juice, basil, oregano, sugar, crushed red pepper, water and salt. Bring to boiling; reduce heat. Cover and simmer for 20 minutes.

Add clams, fish pieces, and shrimp to saucepan. Cover and simmer for 5-10 minutes more or till clams open, fish flakes easily, and shrimp are opaque. Check for seasoning and add more salt if necessary. Discard any unopened clams.