Chef-sister duo Christine and Carla Pallotta of NEBO share their recipe for cioppino — a traditional Italian-American seafood stew — to keep you warm on the coldest of days but also give you a tiny taste of summery seafood (a timely reminder that spring isn’t too far off). The pair swears that with a little patience and practice, this lobster sauce and shellfish dish is quite easy to make (and well worth the process).
Cioppino from NEBO’s Christine & Carla Pallotta
Details
Ingredients
- 3 tablespoons olive oil
- 1/2 small onion sliced
- 2 garlic cloves
- 4 - 32 oz cans of San Marzano tomatoes
- 2 - 2lb lobsters
- 4 basil leaves
- Salt and pepper to taste
- 4 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
- 1 tablespoon chopped garlic
- 16 mussels
- 1 stick of butter
- 1/2 cup of white wine
- 2 cups chicken stock
- 4 cups lobster sauce- from pre cooked lobsters
- 1 lb of calamari
- 4 scallops
- 2 tablespoon parsley
- 2 tablespoon basil
- 2 pinches of red chili flakes
- 4 Half lobster tails- removed from shell
- 4 lobster claws - removed from shell
- 8 shrimp (whole)
- Bruschetta Aglio e Olio
- 8 slices of rustic bread , toasted and rubbed with olive oil
Directions
- In a large saucepan heat olive oil, onion, garlic until garlic is soft and lightly browned. Be careful not to burn.
- Meanwhile in a food processor blend tomatoes for 30 seconds.
- Pour tomatoes into heated olive oil and bring to a boil.
- Place both lobsters in boiling sauce pushing down with a wooden spoon.
- Cover pot and bring up to a boil.
- Lower heat and add salt, pepper and basil.
- Cook on low heat for approximately 15 minutes more.
- Remove lobster and cool completely.
- Cut tail from body and slice in half long ways. Put aside.
- Break off lobster claws.
- Place claws on a cutting board.
- Cover with clean dish cloth and hit with a mallet to break shell.
- Remove claw from shell.
- Put lobster meat aside.
- In sauté pan, heat olive oil.
- Add garlic, mussels, butter, and white wine.
- Cover sauté pan, raise heat and burn off wine –mussels should be open.
- (Discard any that don’t open. This will take 1 ½ minute at most.)
- Add chicken stock and lobster sauce.
- Cook for 3 minutes.
- Lower heat and add calamari, scallops, parsley, basil, red chili flakes, salt and pepper.
- Add lobster and cook for 10 minutes more
- Add shrimp and cook until shrimp are pink.
- In a large wide bowl; place mussels around outer edge with the open side up. Then spoon the rest of the Cioppino in to the center of mussels, topping with lobster tails.
- Sprinkle parsley over dish and serve with Bruschetta
- Optional: boil a pound of spaghetti and serve with the rest of the lobster sauce .