14 Nov Nanna Britton’s Christmas Eve Cioppino

A Christmas Eve tradition in our family is to enjoy a big saucy kettle of cioppino. We make it an event by leaving early in the morning to hit the Monterey Bay commercial docks to buy the best of the freshest seafood directly from the fishermen. If you can make the “sauce” the night before, even better to allow the flavors to marinate in the fridge overnight then add the fish the day of.  Add a crusty loaf of sourdough and a bottle of our Mesa Del Sol Sangiovese to create a new holiday tradition of your own! 

NOTE: You can adjust the “tomatoey” flavor of the sauce by adding more salt, pepper, green peppers, and red pepper flakes for spice and white wine. Add more quantities of seafood to make it less saucy. Have fun with it and don’t be afraid to add more or less depending on the number of servings.

Nanna Britton’s Christmas Eve Cioppino

Prep Time: 30 minutes | Cook Time: 2 hours 30 minutes | Makes 8 servings

Ingredients

• 1 large onion, chopped 
• 1 medium-sized green pepper, halved, seeded, and chopped
• ½ cup sliced celery
• 1 carrot, pared and shredded
• 3 cloves of garlic, minced
• 3 tablespoons olive oil
• 2 cans (1 pound each) tomatoes 
• 1 can (8 ounces each) tomato sauce 
• 1 teaspoon leaf basil, crumbled (We like to use fresh basil, but dried is fine)
• 1 bay leaf
• 1 teaspoon salt to taste
• 1/4 teaspoon pepper to taste
• 1 pound fresh (or frozen) swordfish steak or 1 pound halibut steak
• 1 dozen mussels in shell and/or clams in shell (or substitute fresh clams with 1 10 oz can clams)
• 1 ½ cup dry white wine
• ½ pound fresh (or frozen 8 oz package) shelled, deveined shrimp
• ½ pound fresh (or frozen) scallops
• 2 tablespoons minced parsley or fennel fronds for garnish 

Directions 

1. Saute’ onion, green pepper, celery, carrot, and garlic in olive oil until soft in a dutch oven.
2. Stir in tomatoes, tomato sauce, basil, bay leaf, salt, and pepper. Heat to boiling then reduce heat and cover. Simmer for 2 hours. Discard bay leaf.
3. While the sauce simmers, remove the skin from swordfish or halibut. Cut into bite-sized pieces. Thoroughly scrub the mussels or the clams under running water to remove any residue of mud and sand. Be sure to cut off the “beards” of the mussels if using.
4. Stir wine into the sauce in the dutch oven. Add swordfish, shrimp, and scallops. Simmer, covered 10 minutes longer
5. Place mussels and/or clams in a layer on top of fish in the dutch oven. Cover and steam 5 to 10 minutes, or until the shells are fully opened and fish flakes easily. (Discard any unopened mussels or clams).
6. Ladle into soup bowls. Sprinkle with parsley and/or fennel. Serve with sourdough bread, or crust French or Italian bread.