Cioppino (Seafood Stew)

Note: I was sent a ZOS wine saver for review. All opinions are mine alone.

Using wine in recipes both adds and enhances flavor. I love cooking with both red and white wine, but I really only drink red wine. Which means I keep a re-corked bottled of white wine in my fridge, which over time, begins to oxidize and change taste (and not for the better!)

 

So when I was contacted to try ZOS wine saver, I was intrigued. The ZOS wine saver is a solution that eliminates 100% of the oxygen from an opened bottle of wine, which can preserve the bottle for weeks or months. The ZOS wine stopper has an oxygen-absorbing cartridge that allows you to use a small amount of wine and still maintain its flavor for future use.

The ZOS wine saver is made of an oxygen barrier stopper attached to a replaceable cartridge. You just insert the ZOS stopper into an open bottle of wine and the cartridge absorbs all of the oxygen in the bottle. Each cartridge lasts 5 to 15 bottles and is easily replaceable. The ZOS wine saver (paid link) can be purchased on Amazon.

With the weather warming up, I wanted to make a yummy seafood recipe that’s hearty but light. Cioppino is a fish stew originally from San Francisco, utilizing whatever was caught that day at sea. This recipe for Cioppino (Seafood Stew) includes making a broth and then making the actual soup. The broth can be made a couple of days ahead of time. Both parts of the recipe use white wine, so this recipe is the perfect test for the ZOS wine saver.

Ingredients:

Broth:

• 2 tablespoon olive oil
• 1 onion, chopped
• 4 garlic cloves, minced
• 1 teaspoon dried basil
• 1 teaspoon dried oregano
• ½ teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
• 1 cup dry white wine
• 1 28-oz. can whole peeled tomatoes
• 2 8-oz. bottles clam juice
• 4 sprigs parsley
• 2 dried bay leaves
• salt and pepper, to taste

Soup:

• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 medium shallot, finely chopped
• 2 cloves garlic cloves, thinly sliced
• 2 lbs mussels, scrubbed and debearded
• 1 lb clams, scrubbed
• ¼ cup dry white wine
• 1 lb sea bass, skin removed and cut into 1” pieces
• 1 lb shrimp, peeled, deveined, tails on
• ¼ cup (½ stick) unsalted butter, cut into cubes (or margarine for dairy free)
• salt and pepper, to taste
• fresh parsley, chopped, for garnish
• day old bread, for serving (omit for gluten free)

Before starting, prepare the ZOS wine saver according to package directions. Keep it in the testing holder until ready to use. Prepare all of your ingredients for the broth. Pour 1 cup of wine into a measuring cup and then insert the ZOS wine saver into the wine bottle. It will light up green to show it is working. (When the cartridge needs to be replaced, it will light up red instead)

To make the broth, heat the olive oil in a large pot over medium heat. Add the onion and cook, stirring occasionally, until softened, about 5 to 8 minutes.

Add the garlic, dried basil, dried oregano, and red pepper flakes. Cook, stirring occasionally, until fragrant, about 3 minutes.

Add the 1 cup wine and bring to a boil. Cook until the wine has reduced by half, about 4 minutes.

Add in the whole tomatoes with juices, crushing the tomatoes with tongs.

Cook, stirring occasionally, until thickened, 15 to 20 minutes.

Add in the clam juice, fresh parsley sprigs, dried bay leaves, and 8 cups water. Season with salt and pepper and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat and simmer for 15 minutes.

Discard the parsley sprigs and bay leaves. If making this ahead of time, let cool slightly and then refrigerate in a sealed container.

Prepare your mussels and clams by adding them to a bowl with cold water and a sprinkle of flour for at least 30 minutes prior to cooking. After 30 minutes, remove the mussels and clams and clean and debeard as necessary. If any are cracked, discard. Note: don’t pour out the bowl. All of the dirt/sand removed would be redeposited onto the mussels and clams.

When ready to make the soup, bring the broth to a low simmer in a large pot.

In a separate pot, heat 2 tablespoons olive oil over medium heat. Add the shallots and cook, stirring often, until softened, about 3 minutes.

Add in the garlic and cook for 1 minute or until fragrant.

Add in the cleaned mussels and clams to the pot along with 1/4 cup dry white wine. (Simply uncork and recork the ZOS wine saver from the bottle of wine.)

Turn the heat up to medium-high, cover, and cook until the shells open, about 6 minutes. Give the pot a good shake to help them pop open after 6 minutes. Discard any that do not open, or only open a little bit.

Add all opened clams and mussels, plus the liquid at the bottom of the pot, to the simmering broth. Add in the fish and shrimp. Cover and cook until the fish and shrimp are opaque, about 4 minutes.

Stir in the unsalted butter and season with salt and pepper.

Ladle into bowls and top with freshly chopped parsley. Serve with day old bread. Serve with the remaining white wine, or save for future use.

The broth is wonderfully flavorful. My husband and I were slurping it up, even without the bread!  The mussels, clams, fish, and shrimp are cooked perfectly too.

If you’re a fan of heat, feel free to add a bit more red pepper flakes. This has barely a hint of heat, although the broth has enough flavor that it isn’t really needed.

I made the broth, and then two days later, made the soup. I took a sip of the wine immediately upon opening it, and then again while making the soup and there was no degradation of flavor! this is such a great solution for someone like me who only uses white wine for cooking… this allows me to keep the same bottle of wine for use in cooking for up to 2 months! as a reminder, the ZOS wine saver can be purchased on Amazon.