Cioppino - a lovely seafood stew

 From the Press Enterprise, Dec. 20, 2015

Classic holiday dishes usually are fattier, sweeter and heavier than our normal fare, so when a traditional dish actually is healthy without any tweaks, that’s something to celebrate!

So if cioppino isn’t somewhere on your holiday menu, let’s change that.

Cioppino is a tomato-based fish stew that relies on simple and healthy ingredients for flavor.

It’s the ultimate guilt-free comfort food.

Cioppino is incredibly versatile. You can make it as simple or fancy as you like depending on the seafood you use. Anything from the fishmonger’s best catch to frozen seafood mixes will work.

And a mix of fish and seafood each week is one of the best health moves we can make for our brain and heart health.

My cioppino version is super quick. The result is a light-and-lovely tomato broth that satisfies without weighing you down, which is the perfect foil for those belt-loosening meals that dot the holiday landscape.

The recipe takes just minutes to prepare, making it perfect for entertaining (spend more time with your guests!) and weeknight post-work dining alike.

You even could make the broth the night before, then simply heat it up and add the seafood moments before serving. That means you get a company-worthy dinner on the table in under 15 minutes.

Fresh fennel and orange zest are the secrets to great flavor. That hint of licorice plus that slightly sweet aromatic orange zest work magic together in the acidic tomato sauce.

And remember, any cioppino recipe really is a template, ready for you to personalize and make your own.

Once you make one cioppino this holiday season, I’ll bet you will be enjoying fish stews throughout the year.

Quick Cioppino

Start to finish: 30 minutes

Servings: 6

2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil

1 large yellow onion, thinly sliced

1 fennel bulb, trimmed and thinly sliced (a mandoline is best)

Kosher salt

8 cloves garlic, minced

1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes

1/4 cup tomato paste

1 tablespoon chopped fresh oregano

1 tablespoon chopped fresh thyme

2 teaspoons grated orange zest

11/2 cups dry white wine

11/2 cups fish stock or clam juice

1 cup chicken stock (or more fish stock)

1/2 to 1 cup water

28-ounce can crushed tomatoes, finely chopped and with juices

2 bay leaves

1 pound cod (or other white fish), cut into 1-inch chunks

1 pound uncooked, shelled shrimp

2 tablespoons lemon juice

1/4 cup chopped parsley

In a large, heavy-bottomed pot over medium, heat the olive oil.

Add the onion, fennel and a generous pinch of salt.

Cook until tender, about 12 minutes, stirring often.

Add the garlic, red pepper flakes, tomato paste, oregano, thyme and orange zest, then cook, stirring until very fragrant, about 3 minutes.

Increase the heat to high and deglaze the pan with the wine and let bubble for 3 minutes, stirring.

Add the stock, 1/2 cup of water, tomatoes and bay leaves, then simmer for 10 minutes.

Taste, adjust seasoning, then add an additional 1/2 cup of water if too thick.

Add the cod and shrimp, then cover and cook just until the fish and shrimp are cooked through, 5 to 7 minutes.

Uncover, stir in the lemon juice, then top with parsley to serve.

Nutritional information per serving: 270 calories; 60 calories from fat (22 percent of total calories); 7 g fat (1 g saturated; 0 g trans fats); 125 mg cholesterol; 910 mg sodium; 15 g carbohydrate; 3 g fiber; 6 g sugar; and 27 g protein.

Daniel Boulud's Chicken Tagine

Lifted from the New York Times Magazine, Nov. 16, 2014

This recipe for an elegant North African stew comes out of the kitchen of Boulud Sud, Daniel Boulud’s sophisticated Mediterranean French restaurant in New York. It is a dish steeped in the flavors of North Africa, but also of France. Chicken serves as the protein, bathed in a blend of North African spices — cinnamon and coriander, turmeric, ginger powder and cardamom — combined with tomatoes, saffron and a little stock. Preserved lemons and olives added at the end provide bite. Tagines are often cooked with root vegetables and dried fruits. Boulud, who famously grew up on a farm, in Lyon, uses cauliflower. ‘‘It is maybe a little more French approach to the tagine,’’ he said. Blanching the cauliflower and tomatoes before cooking them may cause some cooks to blanch themselves. But the effort is worth it.

Featured in: Marrakesh Express. 

French, Moroccan

619 ratings

Really Good

Ingredients

For the spice mix

• 3 ½ tablespoons sweet paprika
• 1 teaspoon garlic powder
• 2 teaspoons cinnamon
• 3 tablespoons ground coriander
• 1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon ground turmeric
• 1 tablespoon ginger powder
• ½ tablespoon ground cardamom
• 2 ½ teaspoons ground allspice

For the tagine

• 8 chicken thighs, approximately 3 pounds
• Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
• 2 tablespoons spice mix
• ⅓ cup extra-virgin olive oil
• 3 Roma tomatoes
• 1 head cauliflower, cut into bite-size florets
• 1 large white onion, diced
• 3 cloves garlic, diced
• 1 tablespoon grated fresh ginger
• 1 pinch saffron
• 1 tablespoon tomato paste
• 2 cups chicken stock, homemade or low-sodium
• 3 tablespoons preserved lemons, approximately 2 lemons, roughly chopped
• 1 cup green olives, like Castelvetranos
• ½ bunch cilantro, leaves picked and stems discarded.

• Nutritional Information

  • Nutritional analysis per serving (4 servings)

    1136 calories; 83 grams fat; 19 grams saturated fat; 0 grams trans fat; 41 grams monounsaturated fat; 15 grams polyunsaturated fat; 35 grams carbohydrates; 12 grams dietary fiber; 10 grams sugars; 66 grams protein; 336 milligrams cholesterol; 1023 milligrams sodium
  Note: Nutrient information is not available for all ingredients. Amount is based on available data.
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Preparation

1. Combine the spices in a dry sauté pan set over low heat, and toast them gently until they release their fragrance, 2 minutes or so. Transfer to a bowl, and allow to cool.
2. Preheat oven to 350. Season the chicken thighs with the salt, pepper and 2 tablespoons of the spice mix, along with 2 tablespoons of the olive oil.
3. Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil over high heat, and set a large bowl of ice water to the side. Core the tomatoes, and score an X on their bottoms. Boil the cauliflower florets in the water for 3 minutes, then submerge them in the ice water. Boil the tomatoes for 20 seconds, and chill them in the ice water as well. Remove the cauliflower when it is cold, and pat the florets dry. Peel the skin off the tomatoes, then cut them into quarters lengthwise. Trim away the seeds to make petals.
4. Heat the remaining olive oil in a large sauté pan set over medium heat, and sear the chicken in batches, starting skin-side down, until the thighs are browned. Remove the chicken to a large Dutch oven or tagine pot. Remove all but two tablespoons of the fat in pan, then return it to the heat, and brown the cauliflower and add to the chicken.
5. Reduce heat below the pan, and add the onion, garlic, ginger and saffron. Cook, stirring, until the onions are translucent, approximately 5 minutes. Add tomato paste and chicken stock, and simmer until reduced by 1/3.
6. Pour sauce over the chicken and cauliflower, cover the pot and transfer to oven for 20 minutes. Remove, stir in the tomatoes, preserved lemon and olives, then cover the pot again and cook for an additional 20 minutes or until the chicken is cooked through. Serve the chicken in the pot, garnished with the cilantro leaves, with couscous. Reserve remaining spice mix for the next batch or another use. It keeps well in a sealed container.