Chesapeake Cioppino

There’s something you need to know about Frank: He loves bacon. A lot.

So when it crossed my mind to give up meat for Lent this year, I didn’t mention anything to him right away. He suggested–rather unexpectedly–that we attempt this sacrifice together. For the first Sunday Supper documented on this blog (and knowing that there’s 6-10 inches of snow expected overnight), Frank and I decided on cioppino. With friends like these, who needs meat?

Like many a prior, undocumented Foodventure, this one begins at the Fish Market.

Located along the waterfront of Southwest Washington, D.C., the Fish Market has recently become the only place I like to buy seafood. This town can be so dreary, so full of folks who want to step on top of each other to get to the top. Shopping at the Fish Market, however, is liberating; it transports you from the Beltway to a seaside vacation. Aside from the happy mental state that comes with walking along the water, the fish is also incredibly fresh and the folks who staff the Fish Market know their stuff. (I’ll write another post soon about the time a fish guy taught me about Carolina shrimp–seen in the middle of the photo below–and how it changed my life.)

Meanwhile, back to cioppino.

Before we arrived at the Fish Market, Frank and I had a rough idea of what fish we wanted to include in this batch: rockfish (a local favorite) and salmon as our fin fish selections, plus clams, mussels and shrimp.

When I asked for clams, the fish guy asked what size I wanted. He must have figured from my blank stare that I didn’t know how to answer his question. We chatted about the menu, and he suggested that I go with the larger of the two sizes he had available (on the right in the photo below).

In retrospect, I’m not sure the clams brought anything noticeable to the party. They were cheap, but definitely the least exciting of the fishies included in this batch. Next time, I think I’d leave them out.

While I talked to a separate vendor about clams, Frank picked out the piece of salmon that he wanted (see photo below) and ordered our rockfish and Carolina shrimp.

Back at Frank’s house, I got some olive oil going in his enameled cast-iron dutch oven and the cooking was underway. We more or less stuck to Giada’s cioppino recipe. Both the Harris Teeter and Safeway near Frank’s house do not sell fish stock, so ultimately, instead of 5 cups of fish stock, we used 4 cups of vegetable broth and 1 cup of water. Despite the fact that we did not cut this recipe down for 2 servings, we only used a half pound of clams–for no good reason other than the fact that we’d never prepared clams before–and a half pound of shrimp.

All in all, the stew came out pretty good. I did miss the fish stock, and would go further out of my way to make sure it was included next time. We were also a little shy about the salt, but an extra tablespoon wouldn’t have hurt.

I snagged some leftovers to bring home and I’m looking forward to a possible snow day tomorrow to experiment with the yummy broth.

Related posts:

1. Can we cook a whole fish?
2. Foodventure Fail: Shrimp Fried Rice and Veggie Egg Rolls
3. Leftover Monday: Mussels Mariniere

• By laura, March 6, 2009 @ 1:16 am

  Oh but what clams bring to the look of the dish is classic plus my kids wrestle over the shells. Laura

• By Katie, March 6, 2009 @ 10:24 am

  That’s a good point–the look of the clams is worth something.

  Next time, I think I’d get the smaller ones though. The big ones took a bit too long to cook.

  Thanks for your comment, Laura!

Other Links to this Post

1. The Foodventure » Leftover Monday: Mussels Mariniere — March 3, 2009 @ 7:28 pm