The Sauce
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 medium onion, chopped
2 cups marinara sauce (or store-bought
cioppino sauce)
2 8-ounce bottles clam juice
¼ teaspoon ground pepper
Salt, if needed
In a large skillet over high heat, cook the onions in the olive oil until soft. Add the remaining ingredients. Bring to a boil and simmer over very low heat for 5 minutes.
If making this dish ahead, now is the time to cover and refrigerate.
The Seafood
16 small cherrystone clams, scrubbed
(or 16 green-lipped mussels)
1 pound raw medium shrimp (shelled
or not, your choice)
1 pound fresh snapper (or other
firm local fish), cut in pieces
½ pound sea scallops, cut
in haft if very large
The seafood mix can be varied. This recipe includes shrimp, snapper, sea scallops and clams.
Ask guests to shell their own shrimp at the table, picking them right out of the chowder. This works well with the smaller shrimp that have insignificant veins; but if you want big shrimp or your guests aren,t the kind to plunge into a chowder, buy cleaned-and-shelled shrimp.
Look for clams that are tightly closed. Don't use any that won't close. Add the clams to the sauce bubbling in the large skillet. Cover and cook 5 minutes. Add the shrimp, fish and scallops. Cover and cook another 5 minutes, or until the clams open. Don't be alarmed if they take a while to open. Some clams don't give up easily.
Serve in soup bowls. Have warm French bread available for mopping up the juices. Cioppino is really good with cold beer or a hearty red wine. Place a big bowl in the middle of the table for discarded shells. Serves 6.