Cioppino

A classmate and myself created this in class yesterday. It's a Italian fisherman soup. I hope you enjoy it.

Ingredients

• 1/2 ea fennel bulb, sliced thin
• 1/2 ea onion, diced
• 2 ea garlic clove, sliced thin
• 1 ea bay leaf
• 3/4 tsp thyme, chopped
• 1/16 tsp crushed red pepper flakes
• 1/2 tsp kosher salt
• 1/2 tsp black pepper
• 14 oz crushed tomatoes in juice
• 3/4 c water
• 1/2 c red wine
• 4 oz clam juice
• 8 oz white seabass or halibut, cut into 2 inch cubes
• 8 oz mussels, live in shell.

Remember to always tap the mussels to make sure its alive. It'll open and closed back up. Also, take the beards of them as well.

Directions

1. Heat oil in a 5-6 quart pot over medium-high heat until it shimmers [whisps of smoke], stir in fennel, onion, garlic, bay leaf, thyme, red pepper flakes, and salt & pepper.
2. Cook, covered, over medium heat, stirring once or twice, until the vegs begin to soften [4 minutes].
3. In a separate saute pan, over med-high heat, sear the fish to develope a little color and flavor. Remove and reserve. [You want to make sure the fish is patted completely dried, if not, it will poach in the pan because of the water instead of searing].
4. Add tomatoes with their juice, water, wine, clam juice and boil, covered for 20 minutes. Gently stir in the cooked vegs. Cook, uncovered until the fish is just cooked through and mussels are open wide [4-6 minutes. Discard the bay leaf. [If the mussel is not opened, toss it in the garbage.]