Crab Cioppino

Crab cioppino is a stew made with fresh seafood, tomatoes, and wine. Originating from San Francisco in the 1800’s, cioppino has Italian-American origins, and can feature a wide variety of complimentary ingredients.

With the ability for seafood to act as the star of the dish, cioppino typically features whichever protein is prevalent on a given day. Today our Maryland Blue Crabs will take the spotlight, complimented with clams and mussels as secondary sources of protein.

We are sharing with you Italian-American Chef Giada De Laurentiis’ recipe for cioppino and we have added Cameron’s delicious Maryland soft shell crabs to the recipe.

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Crab Cioppino

Skill Level: Beginner

Course Main Dish

Cuisine Italian

Prep Time 30 minutes

Cook Time 1 hour

Total Time 1 hour 30 minutes

Servings 6 people

Ingredients

• 3 tbsp olive oil
• 1 lg fennel bulb thinly sliced
• 1 medium onion chopped
• 3 lg shallots chopped
• 2 tsp salt
• ½ tsp pepper
• 4 garlic cloves minced
• ¾ tsp chili flakes
• ¼ cup tomato paste
• 1 can diced tomatoes undrained, 28 ounce
• 1½ cups dry white wine
• 5 cups fish stock can use chicken or vegetable stock
• 1 bay leaf
• 1 pound clams scrubbed
• 1 pound mussels scrubbed and bearded
• 6 Cameron’s Steamed Maryland Blue Crabs cleaned and quartered*
• 1 large loaf of fresh sourdough or French bread

Instructions

1. Heat the olive oil in a very large pot over medium heat. Add in the fennel, onion, shallots, salt, and pepper, and cook until the onions are translucent. This should take about 10 minutes or so. Add the garlic and chili flakes and cook for another couple of minutes.
2. Stir in the tomato paste. Then add in the can of diced tomatoes, wine, stock, and the bay leaf. Cover the pot and bring the mixture to a simmer. Reduce the heat to medium-low and cook for 30 minutes.
3. Add the crabs, mussels, and clams to the pot. Simmer gently until the crabs are cooked, and the mussels and clams have opened. Discard any mussels and clams that failed to open. Season the cioppino with salt and pepper, to taste. When you are ready to serve your crab cioppino, remove the bay leaf from the pot. Ladle the stew into soup bowls and serve with large pieces of toasted sourdough or French bread on the side for dipping. The bread is the starch in this dish and really adds to the overall experience.

Buy Maryland Blue Crab Online

Check out our online store for Maryland Blue Crab and many other exciting seafood choices. We ship fresh seafood right to your front door.

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By: Melanie Craighead