Cioppino Latino (San Fran Seafood Stew, Caribbean-style)

This Cioppino recipe includes an element of redemption.

Ají dulce…home-grown on Long Island!

Adriana — my dear friend from way back when in Puerto Rico, and now another single mom by choice and an essential part of my New York life,  has made numerous appearances on Hot, Cheap & Easy. But even more of our fantastic meals together have never made it to these pages. We like to blame it on the kids. It’s one of the things children are good for.

Sofrito

It’s not as though we don’t try. We start out dutifully recording the ingredients; me glaring across the counter at Adriana waving the appropriate measuring implements at her, grabbing the bloody and limp plastic wrap from the butcher as she is trying to throw it out so I can write down the exact weight of the meat, and giving her the evil eye every time she starts to improvise before I have a chance to count the peppercorns or the coriander seeds, or, the grains of salt, she would say.

Then, somewhere along the way, between the distractions of our children needing: (Select All That Apply) food, water, a different show on T.V., a pencil sharpened or mediation, and our needing to open the second bottle of wine, we sort of forget to note what time  we put the roast in, or how long we cooked the vegetables, or how many minutes on each side…we are both good cooks, but it is a different sort of discipline to write everything down as you do it.

Seafood is so gorgeous

I am used to measuring and timing now, and in fact quite like the discipline it imposes and my ability to recreate pretty much the same dish each time if I so choose, thanks to careful measuring and annotation.

But it kinda drives Adriana crazy, like a continuation of work when we are supposed to be having fun. Like laying a Type A nerve-jangle on a Type B chill vibe. Like trying to tell Picasso to color in the lines. A pain in the ass at best, and counterproductive at worst.

Bubble, bubble, toil and trouble

Once I called her out on it in public — the fact that she and I could only rarely keep it together to get a whole recipe down — and told the world that our other mutual friend, Kendra, and I managed (see Grilled Lamb Chops), well, the challenge was on, the gauntlet was thrown, and I’ll show you who can write a recipe…….

Cioppino Latino…sí, sí, sí

So, Cioppino — a seafood dish invented by Italian-Americans in San Francisco – was Adriana’s idea. The fact that I finally have home-grown ají dulce (sweet little cooking peppers from Puerto Rico) and recao (sawtooth culantro) made us decide to put a criollo spin on it.

The results were outstanding, both that evening and for lunch the next day, and, lo and behold…here is the recipe…Take that, Kendra!

Tips on growing ají dulce in the Northeast

Less vibrant color, but a deeper flavor the next day…with a bit of the fizzy stuff!

CIOPPINO LATINO

 FISH BROTH:

3/4 lb jumbo shrimp, unpeeled (you will peel them and use the peels for the broth, then set aside the shrimp for later)

3 cups water

1/4 bulb fennel roughly chopped

Half onion peeled

1/2 cup packed parsley

Place all ingredients, including peels from the shrimp, in a pot, bring to a boil, reduce heat to low and cook for 10-15 minutes. Strain and reserve.

 SOFRITO

6 large cloves garlic

1 cup mixed onions and shallots, diced

1 cup mixed cooking peppers:  green, cubanelle, poblano, aji dulce, red…diced to 1/4 inch

6 leaves recao (sawtooth coriander)

Handful cherry tomatoes roughly chopped

 LIQUID I

1 tbs tomato paste

1 tsp oregano (dry)

1 bay leaf

15 oz can diced tomatoes

1 1/2 cup red wine

2oz chorizo, diced

 LIQUID II

Clam juice (enough to supplement the fish broth as needed. You will need a total of 1 ¼ Cup broth)

10 freshly ground pepper corns

about ¼ – ½ tsp hot red pepper flakes

SEAFOOD

1/2 lb sea scallops

1/2 lb red snapper filet, skin on, 1″ slices

18 little neck clams, scrubbed

(plus the ¾ lb. peeled shrimp you set aside when you made the fish broth)

INSTRUCTIONS

 2 tbs olive oil and garlic, onions/shallots, peppers, recao, and cherry tomatoes into skillet to soften.

 Start at high, stir to coat and reduce to medium. Add tomato paste and stir to combine. Add oregano, 1 bay leaf, diced tomatoes.

 Add red wine and allow to boil until reduced by half. Add chorizo

 Add fish broth (adding clam juice to the homemade fish broth to complete 1 ¼ Cups if necessary), pepper corns and pepper flakes.

 Add clams, cook five minutes covered. Then add all other ingredients cook until they lose their translucence. An additional 7 minutes.

 Serve with crusty bread!

You may also like:

 Serenata (salt cod and root vegetables)

Mussels Vinaigrette Elegant Spanish seafood finger food

Shrimp in Seconds, for tapas, snacks, or salads

Tags: cioppino, comida criolla, cooking, food, Latin-style cioppino, Puerto Rican, recipes, seafood stew, shellfish