On Thursday I wrote about the beauty of perfect tomatoes. I was shopping at my local market yesterday and looked at what passes for tomatoes for non-gardeners. I do not mean to take an elitist stance here toward people that buy their tomatoes. Rather, I am sad for them. What mealy, tough, thick skinned, unripened plastic spheres they must suffer with. To have the luxury of using fresh, ripe tomatoes from the garden for pedestrian use such as spaghetti sauce or in this recipe's case-cioppino, what a delightful decadence. I almost feel guilty. I said "almost."
I have a confession to make. For all cooking other than baking I never use any recipe. I'll explain sometime why using a recipe in baking IS supremely important, but not today. The difficulty comes when I have prepared something people enjoy and they ask for the "recipe." I'm certain that request is met by some dumb looks on my part. I just go into the kitchen and create. So..........therefore it is sometimes tough to translate a dish to the language of a recipe. Does that make sense?
Cioppino, I start with a large stock pot. I saute 1 large sweet Maui onion along with 6-7 pressed garlic cloves in 2 tbsps good quality olive oil. After the onions and garlic are translucent I add 1 cup Marsala wine, 1/2 c Grahams port, 1 c Chardonnay wine, reduce by about a third. I then filled a standard size stock pot (10"w x 7"h) to 51/2 " with assorted tomatoes. And I do mean assorted. Each brings distinct color and flavor, so I like the variety. Cook on very low heat for 4-5 hours. Put it in the fridge covered overnight.
Have you noticed that Lasagna, spaghetti sauce and many other tomato dishes taste better the next day. A recent article in Bon Apetit explained the chemistry and affirmed the urban legend. It does taste better the next day because of the marriage and interaction of all the flavors. So......put your dish in the fridge overnight.
The next day, press all the contents through a food mill. Discard the skins and seeds. Add 1 quart + 1 cup chicken stock to the stock pot and reduce by 25%. Now add some salt and pepper to taste. Add your favorite herbs. I used about 2 T fresh basil, maybe a little more. 1 T fresh English thyme, 1 T fresh lime thyme, 1 T fresh parsley, 1 T fresh summer savory. Do the herbs according to your own taste. Toward the end add, 6 oz. heavy cream.
Last step: SEAFOOD. That is the highlight of this dish. I added 1 1/2 cubed halibut, 1 pound Mexican white shrimp, 1 pound medium scallops, 1 pound cleaned calamari, 1/2 pound cleaned small octopus, 1/2 pound small bay shrimp, and 1/2 pound mussels. I wish I had added more mussels. They totally make the dish. Just before adding the seafood heat the soup base to very high simmer. Next, add the thawed seafood. DO NOT OVERCOOK. The seafood should cook in less than five minutes. Turn off the heat. Heat some really good bread and buckle your seat belts.
This is an extravagant, expensive, and time consuming dish. Invite some friends over that mean a lot to your life and share it with them. Show them you care for and love them by serving them this dish. I may do this only once a year. Celebrate and enjoy the feast!
For a wine. I will throw you a ringer. Serve ice cold sparkling red sweet wine or "soft red" Lambrusco. Trader Joe's has nice ones imported from Italy for around $5.00. It goes so well with the cioppino.
What music for the meal? A little Beppe Gambetta instrumental or some Andrea Boccelli. A trip to the Amalfi coast for less than $50.00. Mangia!!
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