Slow Cooker Cioppino Recipe

Day 15.

There is nothing better than a big bowl of hot, spicy cioppino. It's a little messy, but oh so very good. After I shared with Adam that I was planning on using a package of the frozen seafood mix from Trader Joe's in lieu of fresh seafood, he took over my cooking (crocking?) endeavor. He took both kids with him to the store and I sat on the couch pretending to fold laundry while I watched my buddy Alton Brown on Food Network.

Adam arrived home with a crap load of ingredients. I was completely overwhelmed with all the stuff he bought and he refused to tell me what he spent. After being kindly escorted (read: kicked) out of the kitchen I dug around on the Web and found the bestest cioppino recipe ever. I got it from About.com, an absolutely wonderful resource--how do they get so many smart people in the computer all at the same time? It's called Will's Fisherman's Stew.

I have no idea who Will is, but I imagine he looks something like this:

(drawing courtesy of the household 6-year-old)

There are a lot of ingredients. Try not to freak out. Or freak out and have your husband do it all. Your choice.


The Ingredients:

We followed the About.com recipe with only a few changes. The biggest change was that we added clam juice to the liquid base.

--1 large can (28 oz) crushed tomatoes and juice
--1 can (8 oz) tomato sauce
--1/2 cup chopped onion
--1 cup white wine (those little bottles are nearly a cup)
--6 cloves chopped garlic
--1/2 cup chopped parsley
--1 chopped green bell pepper
--1 hot pepper (optional--we used a red jalapeno)
--1 teaspoon thyme
--2 teaspoons basil
--1 teaspoon oregano
--1/2 teaspoon paprika
--1/2 teaspoono cayenne pepper
--1/2 cup clam juice



Seafood:

--1 deboned and cubed fillet of white fish (we used red snapper)
--1 dozen prawns
--1 dozen scallops
--1 dozen mussels
--1 dozen clams
--1 cracked crab



The Directions:


--Place all ingredients into the stoneware except for the seafood.

--Stir to mix well.

--Cover and cook 8 hours on low

--Add seafood 45 minutes before serving, and turn heat up to high--stirring occasionally.

--Salt and Pepper to taste

--Serve with your favorite french bread, or in our case, Pamela's drop biscuits.

--Change your shirt to red or a dark color so you don't end up with spotted clothes.


--Invite company over. Accept compliments.

Grandpa John. The Original Fisherman.


Related recipes:

tilapia in foil packets
seafood alfredo
fish chowder
fillet of sole with pesto
Mahi Mahi
lobster bisque