Italian Cioppino Seafood Stew

If you have never made a cioppino seafood stew before then you are in for a real crowd pleaser! This recipe is one that my entire Sicilian-Italian family uses over and over again, and virtually any seafood lover is bound to enjoy.

Ingredients:

1/4 cup olive oil

1 large white onion (finely chopped)

2 tablespoons fresh garlic

2 1/2 cups crushed tomatoes

1/4 cup tomato puree

2 - bottles of clam juice

1 cup dry white wine

4 teaspoons dried oregano

2 teaspoons fennel seeds

1 pound wild caught white fish (haddock, hake, etc.)

2 - 6 ounce cans of chopped clams

1 - 6 ounce can of crabmeat

1 pound fresh mussles

1/4 cup fresh basil (finely chopped)

Instructions:

Place a large ceramic pot or dutch oven over medium heat on the stove.

Add the olive oil to the pot and allow it to heat up for a minute before adding the chopped white onion, and garlic to the sauce pan. 

Allow onion and garlic to cook until translucent and softened.

Next, add the crushed tomatoes, tomato puree, clam juice, and white wine to the pot.

Add the oregano and fennel seeds, and allow to simmer for ~15-20 minutes.

Next, add the white fish, chopped clams, crabmeat, and mussles to the pot.

Reduce the heat to medium-low, and allow to simmer until the fish is cooked all the way through (it should begin to flake apart) ~15 minutes.

Remove the pot from the heat, and add chopped basil, stirring the basil into the cioppino seafood stew gently.

Serve with an Italian crostini or pasta, and enjoy.