Hearty Seafood Cioppino Pasta
By: olivia kim
Published: Friday, June 15, 2012 - 6:37pm

Ingredients




•1/2 lb cod fillets (tilapia or white fish)
•20 mussels, scrubbed and debearded
•1/2 medium or large shrimp, shelled and deveined
•1/2 squid, gutted and cut into desired pieces
•1 loaf French bread baguette, cut into desired pieces
•1 26 oz. bottle spaghetti sauce of preference
•1 24 oz. canned diced tomatoes
•1/2 cup water
•1/2 tsp paprika
•1 tbsp olive oil
•1 tsp crushed red pepper •4 garlic cloves, finely minced •1 cup water •1 tbsp dried parsley
•1/2 tsp dried basil
•1/4 tsp dried thyme
•1/2 tsp dried fennel
•1/2 cup dry white wine
•1 tsp salt •1/4 tsp black pepper

Preparation

1 1.In a large pot over medium heat, heat the olive oil and cook the minced garlic and red pepper until fragrant. Then add parsley, basil, fennel, oregano, thyme, tomato sauces with juice, water, and paprika. Let sauce ingredients combine on medium heat for about 10~15 minutes and add the white wine a little at a time. 2 2.Meanwhile, prepare the seafood accordingly. If using frozen ingredients (like us), simply run them through water a few times and clean for dirt, sand, or debris, especially the mussels. Cut squid into desired pieces. Rubbing or cracking salt is optional but recommended on the squid and fish. 3 3.Add the seafood pieces into the pot and let simmer on low for 30 minutes. It should bubble slightly so set heat accordingly. Sample the sauce; add salt and pepper to taste. 4 4.Cook the noodles according to package directions, but be sure to add salt for taste and to prevent sticking. Rinse in a colander and set aside. Prepare the bread by cutting into desire pieces, spreading butter, and toasting on the broil setting until browned. Sprinkling parsley flakes or garlic powder is optional. 5 5.Combine the noodles with the sauce and serve hot immediately with toasted bread, or top cioppino sauce on noodles. Enjoy!

About

We finally decided to make some real pasta besides our usual tomato sauce in a jar + noodles combination (which is fine with me and the kids) by making a super hearty cioppino pasta. Having only limited experience and knowledge with Italian cooking, we were surprised to find out that this cioppino dish originated from San Francisco (our previous living quarters), where the fishermen would enjoy this stew made from the leftover catch they had caught. Lucky for us, we didn't have to fish for anything except in our freezer, where we had ready-to-use mussels, shrimp, cod, and squid at our disposal, which made the sauce that much more better over time. I'm sure fresh seafood would elevate this dish even more, so if you can obtain them I would recommend it. All in all, the entire family enjoyed this seafood pasta, especially the kids who had a good time trying to pick out the mussels from its shell. I personally enjoyed the large chunks of fish with tomato sauce and pasta, a combination that seemed foreign to me up until tonight.