Dewey Beach Cioppino

Ryan and Kathleen made this cioppino (an Italian-American fish stew) during the summer of 2019, at our annual Dewey beach vacation. We sat in the kitchen at Anchor Way enjoying a crisp glass of summer rosé while this recipe came together - with only the best seafood that the Delaware shore has to offer!

We recommend serving in a shallow bowl so that the seafood is the star - and don’t forget a hunk of bread to mop up the broth. You can also serve this over pasta.

Ingredients

• 1 large fennel bulb, thinly sliced
• 1 large shallot, thinly sliced
• 1/2 yellow onion, sliced
• 5 fat cloves of garlic, minced
• Red pepper flakes
• Extra virgin olive oil
• 2 cups white wine
• 1 bay leaf
• Salt and fresh cracked pepper
• 2 small cans good quality whole tomatoes (or stew your own - break up with spoon while cooking)
• 1.5-2 quarts seafood stock (we bought one and then made more stock with water and the shells from the shrimp)
• 4 tablespoons of tomato paste
• Juice and zest of 1 lemon
• 1 dozen fresh clams (live not frozen)
• Container of jumbo lump crab
• 1.5lb of fresh jumbo sea scallops
• 1 lb of large shrimp
• Fresh basil
• Fresh parsley
• 1/3 stick of butter
• 1 bay leaf
• Sourdough bread for dipping

Instructions

• Sautée the fennel, onion, shallot, garlic, red pepper flakes, and bay leaf in EVOO.
• Add the white wine and reduce by half. Add the tomato paste and cook out for a bit.
• Add tomatoes and seafood broth. Simmer for a while.
• Add juice and zest of lemon.
• Steam clams separately and set aside.
• Add shrimp and scallops at low heat and poach slowly.
• Once done, add the clams, butter, and fresh herbs.
• Add lump crab to top of bowls.
• Serve with bread for dipping or over linguini!