Seafood Cioppino Connecticut

Seafood Cioppino Connecticut
The hubs said: "This is delicious! But next time you make it, you really don't need to add the broccoli."

When daughter Brynnly isn't working the restaurant dinner shift and her beau is, she'll come have dinner with us, her parental units. It's always a loverly evening when this occurs! Unless she or I have a specific craving, we usually have no idea what we're eating until we get to the grocery store! This night Brynn was craving seafood, but there wasn't a fish for sale that we wanted at Stew's for less than a bazillion $$ a pound. (I refuse to pay $23.99/pound for a piece of wild salmon!) So, we decided to go the shellfish and calamari route as the wild shrimp were on sale for $4.99/lb and the cockles and calamari inexpensive as well. Brynnly said she wanted to make some sort of seafood stew kind of dish and we came up with the below - truly a throw 'n go rendition! It was absolutely wonderful! 

The throw 'n go:

1 1/2 lbs. raw wild shrimp, deshelled
1 lb. cockle clams, cleaned
4 tubes with tentacles calamari, cleaned and cut in rings, tentacles included
2 T. or so butter
2 T. or so evoo
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 medium onion, diced
1 C. or so white wine
1 can (13.5 oz.) petite diced tomatoes
1 C. or so marinara sauce, preferably Rao's or homemade
1/3 C. or so 1/2 & 1/2 cream
1/3 C. or so sour cream
bum-hot (or cayenne) to taste
black pepper, fresh ground, to taste
1 - 1 1/2 lemons, juiced
basil, a handful chopped
parsley, a handful chopped
salt to taste
1 1/2 C. broccoli cut into small flowerets, blanched (optional)
parsley, chopped, for garnish

2 packages Buitoni (or similar brand) fresh linguini/fettucini pasta

While shrimp, calamari and cockles are what we used, any combination of firm white fish and shellfish could be used - just vary for the cooking times as thick fish, large scallops or lobster would take longer to be done.

Clean the seafood - for the cockles, rinse them and then place in a bowl/pan of ice-cold salted water for at least 1/2 hour and up to an hour, stirring occasionally, but let debris settle before you gently lift the cockles out of the water so no debris clings to them before cooking. (Go to this link for more info.)

Heat to boiling a pot of water to cook the pasta.

In a large skillet, melt the butter and olive oil together. Add minced garlic and onion and saute until they are just beginning to brown. Throw in the wine and simmer until it's reduced by about half. Add the petite diced tomatoes, marinara sauce, cream, bum-hot, black pepper and lemon juice. Whisk until all is combined and smooth. (Cream may separate because of the wine or lemon juice - whisk long enough and all will be well.) Add sour cream in dollops until your sauce is smooth - and tastes just right. Add the basil and parsley, turn to low and cover, simmering for 5 or so minutes so all flavors combine, but be sure not to let your sauce get too thick. As you add the pasta to the boiling water, add the seafood and broccoli to your sauce base, stir well and cover with a lid or foil. The seafood will be done just about the same time the pasta is - about 5 minutes. All the seafood is done when the cockles' shells have opened. If the sauce is too thick, add a ladle-full of the pasta water to the sauce pan until it's the right consistency. Taste to correct seasonings, if needed. Drain the pasta, return it to its pot and toss with a bit of melted butter and/or olive oil. At serving time, add more chopped parsley to the top of the seafood mixture to make it purty. 

To serve, put pasta on a plate or in a bowl and ladle the seafood mixture over the top. 

Lots of folks like to add grated Parmesan to their serving. Garlic bread is a big draw as well, though I think a loaf of warm crusty French bread would be over-the-top delicious and help sop up all that wonderful sauce. 

Made for the first time on 7/10/16

~~~

YUM!

'till we feast again! 

xoabb