Old Style San Francisco Crab Cioppino Food

SAN FRANCISCO-STYLE CIOPPINO

Steps:

• For the tomato base: In a large pot, heat the oil over medium heat and add the carrots, onions, peppers, and celery, and saute until tender, about 5 minutes. Add the garlic, chile, herbs, and seasonings and cook until fragrant. Add the wine, vinegar, Worcestershire, and hot sauce and reduce until the liquid is almost evaporated. Add the tomatoes and all of the fish stock, bring to a boil, reduce to a simmer, and cook for 1 to 1 1/2 hours, stirring occasionally. Strain through a fine strainer, discarding the solids.
• For the seafood: Place the strained liquid into a clean pot and bring to a simmer. Add the crab, clams, mussels, and sea bass, cover the pot, and cook for 2 to 3 minutes. Add the prawns and cook an additional 2 to 3 minutes.
• To serve: Divide the seafood into 6 large bowls and ladle the broth over top. Serve with garlic bread.
• In a large pot, add all of the ingredients and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to low and simmer for 45 minutes. Strain, reserving the broth and discarding the solids.

OLD-STYLE SAN FRANCISCO CRAB CIOPPINO

Steps:

• Using a TALL 8-10 quart pot, cover the bottom of the pot with a good virgin olive oil, about ¼ cup. Add the chopped onion, sage, garlic, parsley and celery and sauté slow and stirring often until tender, approximately 20 minutes. If it gets too dry, add a little more olive oil. Add tomato sauce and cayenne pepper. Reduce to lowest simmer and cook for approximately 45-60 minutes, stirring occasionally. If it gets too dry, add a little water.
• Add 10-12 cups of water and bring to a boil. Add salt and pepper to taste.
• Begin adding the seafood. Raw crab first (if not raw, then cooked is an ok substitute.) If you get raw crab, cleaned and chopped, it will be much better). Return to a low boil, then lower to low-medium heat for 15 minutes.
• Then add clams and mussels. Continue to simmer 10 minutes. Add the shrimp and scallops, simmer for 10 minutes, along with a cheese glass of white wine (6 oz.) before serving. Ok if this sits on low heat for 15-20 minutes. Add the fish 5-7 minutes before you are ready to serve. Any longer than that, take it off the heat and reheat gently before serving. Ladle into large bowls and have a few extra bowls on the table for shells.
• Have plenty of garlic and olive oil basted sourdough bread, finished with shredded parmesan cheese and your favorite California Chardonay. Offer the usual complement of crab tools, crackers, pickers, etc.
• Left-overs should be refrigerated and eaten next day or two. After eating, offer your guests a warm hand towel with fresh lemon squirted on it, with a little water, microwave on high for 30 seconds.

CRAB CIOPPINO

Steps:

• In an 8-quart kettle or pot, heat the olive oil and saute the onions until transparent. Add the garlic and saute until it begins to brown. Stir in crab butter and let cook slowly for 2 minutes (crab butter is saffron yellow in color and adds a distinctive rich flavor). Next, add the wine, and reduce. Add tomatoes and tomato sauce, broth, and live crabs.
• To simmer at low heat for about 5 minutes. Add shrimp, clams, mussels and cook for 2 more minutes. Serve in a bowls and sprinkle with fresh parsley. Add salt, pepper, and red pepper flakes, to taste.
• If your crab is cooked ahead of time, add it to the recipe at the same time you add the clams, shrimp, and mussels.
• *Fresh crab usually has yellowish matter under the shell in the center of the body, called crab butter, or fat, or mustard. It is edible and considered quite tasty.
• Warm heavy skillet on medium heat. Add olive oil and diced onion. When onion becomes transparent, add the garlic and cook until lightly brown. Add tomatoes, basil leaves, salt and pepper, and simmer for 45 minutes.;

CHEF JOHN'S CIOPPINO

Steps:

• Combine butter and olive oil in a large Dutch oven over medium-low heat.
• Stir in onion and celery with a pinch of salt; cook until onion is soft and golden, 6 to 7 minutes. Stir in garlic and cook for 1 minute.
• Stir wine into onion mixture; increase heat to high and bring to a simmer.
• Stir in tomato puree, water, bay leaf, oregano, red pepper flakes, and Worcestershire sauce. Reduce heat to low and simmer 35 minutes.
• Increase heat to high and bring mixture to a boil. Stir in lemon and cod, return to simmer, about 2 minutes.
• Stir in crab, shrimp, and mussels. Cover and simmer until all mussels are cooked and open, about 5 minutes.
• Stir in fresh parsley and basil; season with salt and pepper to taste.

CIOPPINO-STYLE ROASTED CRAB

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 400°F. Heat oil in large deep ovenproof skillet or large metal roasting pan over medium heat. Add onion and garlic; sauté until soft, about 5 minutes. Add wine; increase heat to high and boil 2 minutes. Add clam juice, tomatoes with juice, 1 cup water, bay leaves, parsley, and crushed red pepper and bring to boil. Season to taste with coarse salt and pepper.
• Reduce heat to medium-low. Simmer 15 minutes. Add crab pieces; nestle into sauce. Transfer skillet to oven and roast until crab pieces are heated through, 15 to 20 minutes. Place crab with juices in large bowl.