Northwest Cioppino

Serves 4

Prep time 15 minutes

Cook time 45 minutes

1 yellow onion, thinly sliced

3-4 cloves of garlic, crushed

4 tablespoons butter, divided

1 tablespoon olive oil

Pinch of red chili flakes

Kosher salt and cracked pepper to taste

1 teaspoon paprika

1 cup dry white wine

1 28-ounce can crushed tomatoes

2-3 sprigs of lemon thyme

6 cups low sodium chicken broth or water

Pinch of saffron

1/2 pound fresh halibut

1 pound fresh salmon

1 pound fresh steamer clams

1 pound fresh spot prawns or any large-count prawns you prefer

2 fresh Dungeness crab, cooked and cleaned

Extra virgin olive oil to finish

Lemon wedges for garnish

To make the stew, sauté onion and garlic in 2 tablespoons of butter and olive oil along with chili flakes, salt, and pepper over medium heat 3-4 minutes. Careful not to burn the garlic. Add paprika, cook 30 seconds, and then add white wine to deglaze. Cook 7-10 minutes and reduce wine by half. Add tomatoes and lemon thyme and cook 7-10 minutes to reduce tomatoes and develop their flavor. Add chicken broth and saffron and simmer another 7-10 minutes. Add the final 2 tablespoons of butter and melt it into the soup.

Slice the fish into 2-inch cubes; pieces should all be roughly the same size. Begin this process 10 minutes before serving. Heat the broth between medium and medium-high. With the broth at a simmer, add clams and cook 2 minutes, then add fish and cook 6 minutes. Add spot prawns and cook 3-4 minutes. Make sure to cover with a lid between each addition. Finally, add cooked crab to warm through, roughly 1 minute. Check for seasoning before serving.

Serve a half-section of crab in each bowl along with fish, clams, and prawns. Cover with the delicate, rich broth, garnish with lemon wedges, add a splash of olive oil, and enjoy! Serve with artisan sourdough bread and plenty of butter.

Tip: To avoid overcooking the fish, if you need a little more time before serving turn the heat off while adding fish and shrimp to the broth for cooking.

Helpful cooking info for the seafood:

·         While cooking, clams should take 5-10 minutes to open. Discard any clams that have not opened after 15 minutes.

·         Halibut and salmon need to cook as smaller chunks poached at 140 degrees for roughly 6 minutes.

·         Spot prawns need to be cooked 2-3 minutes or until opaque.