Original recipe published by John Mitzewich, but adapted by Newman's customer Paul Redhead. Paul insists Newman's stock is the secret to great tasting Cioppino but says you can be flexible with the types of seafood you use.
Prep time: 20 Minutes Cook time: 75 Minutes Serves 6
1/4 cup olive oil
1/4 cup butter
1 rib celery, chopped
1 onion, diced
1 can crushed tomatoes (28-oz)
2 cups Newman's fish stock or clam juice
2 cups white wine
4 cloves crushed garlic
1 lemon, juiced
1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
1 bay leaf
1 teaspoons dried basil
1 teaspoon dried oregano
1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes, or to taste
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 Dungeness crab (about 2 lbs), cracked and cleaned, or 1 lb frozen crabmeat, thawed
2 pounds halibut fillet (or other white fish such as ling cod), cut into 1" pieces
24 large raw prawns, peeled and deveined
12 mussels
12 steamer clams - or more to taste
1/2 bunch Italian parsley, chopped
1. In a large pot, on medium-low heat, melt the butter with the olive oil and sauté the celery and onions until soft, about 10 minutes. Add all the rest of the ingredients except the seafood and fresh parsley. Simmer on low, uncovered, for one hour. Add a splash of water if the sauce gets to thick. Taste for salt and adjust if needed.
2. Add the crab, shrimp, and halibut, and simmer covered another five minutes. Add the mussels and clams, cover the pot and simmer for 3 minutes more, or until the mussels open. Turn off the heat, and stir in the Italian parsley.
3. Ladle the Cioppino into large bowls and serve with lots of sourdough bread and red wine.