Cioppino
Recipe by Charlie Jesmer
Ingredients
1 Can San Marzano Tomatoes
2# Roma Tomatoes
2.5 oz tomato Paste
70 ML white wine
1 Quart Fish stock
2-4# fish cut into 2 inch chunks (at the shop we use a range of fish like halibut, icelandic/black cod, salmon, rockfish, red snapper, etc etc)
1 # shrimp (peeled and deveined)
2 Cups Fennel (Julienned)
3 Cups White onion (Julienned)
2 shallots (julienned)
2 cloves of garlic (Sliced)
1 Tbls (mined) fresh thyme
2 bay leaves
1 teaspoon clove
3 teaspoons fennel seed
2 teaspoons oregano
Fresh parsley for garnish
Directions
Brûlée Tomatoes over open Flame until charred on the outside, then let steam in a bowl covered with aluminum for 10 Min. Then remove skin and mash lightly with hands. Open canned tomatoes and blend lightly with an immersion blender or with your hands.
Sweat veggies on medium heat with a good amount of olive oil, after 5 Min, add tomato paste. Allow to cook together for 8 minutes or so, then add your fresh thyme, clove, fennel seed, and oregano and allow to cook together for a few more minutes.
Turn up heat, wait 30 seconds, then deglaze with white wine. Let reduce to au sec, then deglaze a second time.
Add stocks and tomatoes and bring to a simmer on high heat, then turn down to low and let cook uncovered for about 45 min. Then use a spider (or holey spoon) to remove veggies into a separate bowl (so they can stop cooking).
After Veggies are removed, throw in mussels and clams. Cover pot and check after 5 min to see if any of the mollusks have opened. Remove them as they open so as to not over cook.
Once mollusks are fully cooked, add the rest of your fish, shrimp, and scallops to the pot, and remove from heat. Residual heat should cook seafood all the way through. Check the center of the larger pieces of fish (Cut to center with a sharp knife) if not fully cooked, return pot to low flame and cook covered for another 5-8 min.
Add mollusks and veggies back to the pot. Finish with more clove, oregano, fennel seed, salt, pepper to taste.
Garnish with a handful of fresh chopped parsley, squeeze of charred Lemon, and a toasted baguette
Note from Jack
Charlie has become one of my dearest friends over the past 3+ years. As the sausage sisters we crushed the heavy load that is sausage production at the Organic Butcher of McLean, and did it with grace and a smile on our faces. Seeing him get promoted to head chef in our fancy new kitchen in Bethesda warmed my heart to its core, and I’m so grateful he was willing to share his delicious cioppino recipe with me. I hope you enjoy it even half as much as I do, cause I freakin’ love it (and just about everything else Charlie makes).
