Cioppini (Seafood Soup)

This is one of those delectable meals that must include soaking your crusty French bread in the seafood and wine-rich broth before eating it. I ended up buying smoked oysters too while looking for the right seafood to add to this soup. I chose instead to eat them as a starter with wedges of Cambezola and crackers. Soooo rich! 

If you are a seafood lover, this simple combination of flavours is a classic and adored by many. I chose the recipe because it filled my need for mussels, soup and a very brief set of instructions for its preparation. 

Adapted from: http://pixfiz.blogspot.ca

Serves 8

Ingredients

• 3 T salted butter
• 2 onions, diced
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1, 28 oz tin chopped stewed tomatoes
• 4 cups water
• 3 T chicken bouillon powder
• 1 bunch fresh parsley, chopped
• 2 bay leaves
• 1 T dried basil
• 1/2 t thyme
• 1/2 t oregano
• 1 cup clam juice
• 1 1/2 cup white wine
• 1 1/2 lbs shrimp, peeled and deveined
• 1 1/2 lbs cod fillets, cubed
• 18 mussels cleaned and debearded
• 1 1/2 crab meat

*Clams, scallops and other seafood can be added or swapped for what I included above.



Method

Melt the butter in a large saucepan and add the onions and garlic, coating them well and letting them cook on medium heat until transparent. Add all the remaining ingredients to the saucepan except the seafood. Cover and simmer for about 30 minutes.

Increase the heat and add the seafood, bringing the soup to a boil, before reducing it again and simmering for 5-7 minutes.

Serve with a crusty loaf of French bread and a green salad of your choosing.