Cioppino...our olympic stew!

when you want a restaurant quality meal, but really want to ea tat home to tri geek out to the Olympics, cook some Cioppino!
We served this up with a summer salad while we watched the men's olympic triathlon streamed on the internet....It makes a ton of broth, so right before I put in the seafood, i took out half of the broth and froze it. that way, next time we want Ciopinno, just defrost and add fresh seafood! Or, just be cooler than us and actually have friends over and there's Ciopinno to share!


CIOPPINO

1 to 2 tablespoons olive oil
1 onion, chopped
3 large shallots, chopped
2 teaspoons salt
4 large garlic cloves, finely chopped
3/4 teaspoon dried crushed red pepper flakes,
¼ cup tomato paste
1 (28 ounce) can diced tomatoes in juice
1 can quartered artichoke hearts (no juice)
2 cups dry white wine
4 cups of fish stock (one of those large boxes is good)
2 bay leafs
1 pound little neck or manilla clams
3/4 pound mussels,
3/4 pound uncooked large shrimp
1 pound assorted firm fleshed fish fillets such as halibut or mahi mahi
3/4 pound scallops


2 slices whole grain or sprouted bread. toasted and cubed for "croutons"...or just go "big" with a sourdough loaf and dip that in- that would be DARN good.

Heat oil in a very large pot over medium heat. Add the onion, shallots, and salt and sauté until the onion is translucent, about 10 minutes. Add the garlic and ¾ teaspoon of red pepper flakes and sauté 2 minutes, Stir in the tomato paste. Add tomatoes with their juices, wine, stock and bay leaf. Cover and bring to a simmer. Reduce the heat to medium low. Cover and simmer for about 30 minutes.

Add the clams and mussels to the cooking liquid. Cover and cook until the clams and mussels begin to open about 5 minutes. Add the shrimp and fish. Simmer gently until the fish and shrimp are just cooked through, and the clams are completely open. (Discard any clams and mussels that do not open). Remove bay leaf. Season the soup to taste.