This is recipe #3 in The Girl With A Curl’s Fallin For Soup project.

Cioppino is a happy hodgepodge of all things seafood. It originated from seafaring Italians in San Francisco in the 1800s, when fishermen would contribute their day’s best catch to a communal soup pot. It owes its name to the Ligurian word ciuppin, meaning “to chop” or “chopped,” which is what you do to all manner of gifts from the sea to throw together for this spicy, tomato-based soup that’s perfect for cold weather. You know what else makes it yummy? Red wine. I don’t cook with alcohol that much, but this dish wouldn’t have been the same without it.

This version used what I found at the fish market on the morning of the day that I cooked this dish. There’s crab, shrimp, scallop, clams and cod.

And some other ingredients that I’d never think to use in daily cooking: crushed red pepper flakes, bay leaves and dried oregano, and other usual suspects like garlic, onion and green bell peppers.

CURLIFIED CIOPPINO

4 large garlic cloves, minced
2 medium onions, finely chopped
2 small bay leaved
1 teaspoon dried oregano
1 teaspoon dried hot red pepper flakes
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
1/4 cup olive oil
1 green bell pepper, diced
2 tablespoons tomato paste
1 1/2 cups dry red wine
1 (28- to 32-oz) can diced tomatoes
1 cup bottled clam juice
1 cup chicken broth

Seafood of your choice, like:
- crabs, cooked and cut in pieces
- clams/shellfish
- shrimp, heads trimmed
- scallops
- white-meat fish in chunks
- squid

1)    Cook garlic, onions, bay leaf, oregano, and red pepper flakes with salt and pepper in oil until onions are softened. Stir in bell pepper and tomato paste.

2)    Add wine and boil until reduced by about half. Add tomatoes with their juice, clam juice and broth. Simmer and season with salt and pepper.

3)    Add crab pieces and clams to stew and simmer, covered, until clams just open. Discard unopened clams as these mean they aren’t good for eating. Lightly remaining seafood with salt and add to stew, then simmer, covered, until just cooked through.

4)    Garnish with parsely or chopped basil and a sprinkling of cheese and serve hot.

You know what’s funny? I don’t even like crab or shrimp! And I wouldn’t touch lobster either, which is one other thing you can throw into the pot. I actually didn’t eat this for dinner (I had a cheeseburger and fries instead, ahaha). I know, I’m weird. I made it for the experience of working with seafood, and my seafood-loving friends and family said this hit the spot.

Cooking this made me remember Pappy. My dad’s an avid fisherman and used to take us fishing when we were kids. He would love this stew. I’ve made a mental note to cook this for him the next time he visits.

Hope you get the chance to warm up to your memories of the sea with this hearty dish!