From DN Recipes by David Nagy · Food & Beverage

Tadich Grill Cioppino for Two

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Tadich Grill Cioppino for Two
Prep:30 mins  Cook:2 hrs 25 mins  Total:2 hrs 55 mins  Servings:2
Ingredients
  • 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
  • 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
  • 1/2 cup onion, chopped
  • 1/4 cup carrot, peeled, trimmed, and chopped
  • 1/4 cup celery, chopped
  • 1/2 cup fennel bulb, trimmed and chopped
  • 1 clove garlic, minced or pressed
  • 1 tablespoon tomato paste
  • 1/2 cup dry white wine
  • 1 (14-ounce) can diced tomatoes
  • 1 cup seafood stock or clam juice, or water
  • 1 bay leaf
  • 1/4 teaspoon dried oregano
  • 1/4 teaspoon dried thyme
  • 1/4 teaspoon dried basil
  • 2 pinches cayenne pepper
  • Kosher salt, to taste
  • Freshly ground black pepper, to taste
  • 4 to 6 ounces grouper, or other firm white fish such as cod, halibut, or snapper
  • 24 ounces shellfish, such as peeled medium shrimp or shelled crabmeat
  • 6 to 8 mussels, or small clams
  • 1 to 2 tablespoons fennel fronds, chopped, or parsley, or a combination, for garnish
  • 2 large sea scallops, optional
  • 2 to 3 tablespoons vegetable oil
Directions
  1. Gather the ingredients.
  2. In a heavy medium-sized soup pot or saucepan, heat the olive oil and butter. When the butter stops foaming, add the onion, carrot, celery, and fennel. Sprinkle with salt. Stir and cook for 5 or 6 minutes, until vegetables have begun to soften and brown a little. Add the garlic and stir it in, cooking for another minute or so.
  3. Add the tomato paste and stir, using the back of the spoon to break the paste apart and coat the vegetables as much as possible. Cook for a few minutes, until the tomato paste begins to darken slightly.
  4. Add the wine and stir, scraping up any browned bits from the bottom of the pot. Bring to a boil and cook until most of the wine has evaporated.
  5. Add the tomatoes (with liquid), stock or water, herbs (bay leaf, oregano, thyme, basil), and cayenne. Stir and taste for seasoning, adding salt and black pepper if necessary. Reduce heat, and simmer soup for at least an hour. (The soup base can be made ahead to this point and refrigerated or frozen.)
  6. About 15 minutes before serving, bring the soup back to a simmer (if necessary).
  7. Cut the fish into chunks about 2 inches by 1 inch. Scrub the mussels or clams.
  8. Turn the heat up to medium-high. Add the mussels or clams and cover the pot. Cook for about 5 minutes, or until the shells open.
  9. If using the optional scallops, sprinkle with salt. Just before adding the clams or mussels to the pot, heat a small skillet over medium-high heat. Pour in enough oil to form a thick coat of oil on the bottom. Just when the oil begins to smoke, turn down the heat slightly and add the scallops. As the mussels or clams steam, cook the scallops for 2 to 3 minutes, until deep golden brown. Turn them over and cook the other side for a couple of minutes. Remove to a small plate.
  10. Turn the heat back down on the soup pot to a simmer and add the fish. Cook for 1 minute, and then add the shrimp and crab. Cook for 2 minutes or just until shrimp are done, and crab is warmed through.
  11. When the soup is ready, place a scallop in the center of each large soup bowl (if using scallops). Ladle the soup into the large soup bowls. Sprinkle with parsley or fennel fronds