Jung introduced me to this recipe and I devoured bowls and bowls of this. I felt up to the challenge one weekend so I went grocery shopping to only realize that I couldn't find Dungeness Crab anywhere. Thankfully Whole Foods had frozen crab legs so I improvised. I'm sure this would be amazing with Dungeness Crab, but this was still unbelievably good.
Judith's Dungeness Crab Cioppinio
Michael Mina
3/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
8 large garlic cloves—6 finely chopped, 2 whole
3 jalapeños, seeded and minced
2 red bell peppers, finely chopped
1 large onion, finely chopped
1 large bay leaf
2 tablespoons tomato paste
1/2 cup dry red wine
One 28-ounce can peeled tomatoes, finely chopped, juices reserved
Four 8-ounce bottles clam broth
1 1/2 cups water
Salt and freshly ground pepper
1/2 cup packed basil leaves
1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper
4 steamed Dungeness crabs, about 2 pounds each (or in my case 2 pounds of frozen crab legs)
2 dozen littleneck clams, scrubbed
2 pounds firm, white-fleshed fish fillets such as halibut, skinned and cut into 1 1/2-inch chunks
2 pounds large shrimp, shelled and deveined
2 pounds mussels, scrubbed
1 pound sea scallops, halved vertically if large
Crusty bread, for serving
It helps to do the prep before, so I started chopping up the bell peppers and onions.
