Quick Cioppino: A Delicious $13 Seafood Stew for Saturday Night!

Maybe it's a sign that I am getting older, but more and more my favorite weekend nights "out" are those that are spent just relaxing with family and friends over a delicious meal at home. 

The weekend is the perfect time to whip out a cookbook, go to the store, get some fresh ingredients, and master a new technique in the kitchen.

And just recently my husband and I tried a recipe that was so delicious, easy, and affordable, that I just had to share it with you today! 

Martha Stewart's Quick Cioppino

Image from Martha Stewart Living

Now I know what you are thinking...a cioppino...easy?!  I promise you that we are not master chefs when it comes to preparing shellfish, and we were both amazed at how easy this complex flavored broth really is to make! 

Here are a few photos from our recent cooking adventure...
 

Martha Stewart Quick Cioppino

Sorting the shrimp, mussels, and clams, and getting everything rinsed off!

This recipe does not call for many ingredients...here a few items we already had in our pantry.

Onions and spices simmering away!

Next we added the diced tomatoes...doesn't this broth look amazing?!

Almost done...we added the seafood to simmer for 6-8 minutes...

The finished project!  This stew was so delicious.  We loved the light consistency of the broth, and the bright bold flavors that we were able to develop in just a few minutes!

And of course you need a little (or a lot) of bread to enjoy with such a delicious stew!  Unfortunately our local market was already sold out of baguettes when we got to the store, but these frozen dinner rolls did the trick!

Luckily we had many of the ingredients for this recipe in our pantry already, except for the seafood and parsley, and we decided to substitute shrimp for fish, which turned out great!  The total cost of this seafood and parsley was only $13!  Not bad!  And I love finding recipes that can take advantage of what we already have in our pantry.

Here is the recipe if you are interested in trying this simple and delicious seafood stew this weekend...

Quick Cioppino: Martha Stewart Living

Ingredients
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
1 medium onion, cut into 1/4-inch dice
4 garlic cloves, smashed and peeled
3 sprigs fresh thyme
1 teaspoon coarse salt
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground pepper
1/8 teaspoon crushed red-pepper flakes
1 cup dry white wine, such as Chardonnay
1 can (14 ounces) diced tomatoes with juices
2 1/2 cups water
14 mussels, debearded and scrubbed well
14 littleneck clams, scrubbed well
1 pound firm, white fish fillets, such as halibut or cod, cut into 2-inch pieces
Fresh flat-leaf parsley leaves, for garnish

Directions
Add onion and garlic, and cook for 4 minutes. Add thyme, salt, pepper, and red-pepper flakes, and cook for 1 minute. Add wine, and simmer for 1 minute. Stir in tomatoes, juices, and water. Cover, and simmer for 25 minutes. Add seafood, cover, and cook until shells open, 6 to 8 minutes. (Discard unopened shells and thyme sprigs.) Garnish with parsley, and serve immediately.

And in case you are interested in trying this recipe with a new wine, I would recommend the 2009 Vega Murillo Verdejo that is pictured above.  We used this wine in our recipe, and also drank it with our dinner.  This Spanish white is from the Rueda region of Spain, and is a light, blended wine with a pleasant richness that balances out the citrus flavors in the wine.  This was a great pairing for our Cioppino, and at only $12.99 a bottle, it was also a great deal!

Will you be cooking anything special this weekend?

Happy Eating and Drinking Everyone...and Happy Halloween!