The Food - A Birthday Celebration with Fast Easy Cioppino

A Birthday Celebration with Fast Easy Cioppino 3/25

Ingredients

3 tbs. olive oil
1 large fennel bulb, thinly sliced
1 onion chopped
3 large shallots, chopped
2 tsp. salt
4 large garlic cloves, finely chopped
3/4 teaspoon dried, crushed red pepper flakes (more to tast if desired)
1/4 cup tomato paste
1 (28 oz. can) diced tomatoes in juice
1 1/2 cups dry white wine
5 cups fish stock (chicken if you can't find fish)
1 bay leaf
1 lb clams, scrubbed
1 lb mussels, scrubbed and debearded
1 lb uncooked large shrimp, peeled and deveined
1 1/2 lbs assorted firm-f;rshed fish such as halibut or salmon, cut into 2 inch cubes.

Directions

Heat the oil in a very large pot over medium heat.  Add the fennel,onions, shallots and salt and saute until onions are translucent, about 10 minutes.  Add the garlic and red pepper flakes, and saute 2 minutes.  Stir in the tomato paste.  Add tomatoes with their juices, wine, stock and bay leaf.  Cover and bring to a simmer.  Reduce the heat to medium low and simmer until the flavors blend, about 30 minutes.

Add the clams and mussels to the cooking liquid.  Cover and cook until the clams and  mussels begin to open, about 5 minutes.  Add the shrimp and the fish.  Simmer gently until the shrimp and the fish are just cooked through, and  the clams acompletely open, stirruing gently, about 5 minutes longer.  (Disgard any clams and mussels that do not open.)  Season soup to taste with more salt and red pepper flakes. 

Ladle the soup into bowls and serve.

I couldn't get live clams, so I used frozen ones.  They were delicious.  And I had to use chicken stock. 

Add some warm, fresh bread with olive oil and this is a wonderful fancy meal!