Tante Marie’s Crab Cioppino

2 whole crabs (approximately 1 1/2 – 2 pounds each — freshly
cooked
24 live clams — well-scrubbed
1/3 cup olive oil
1 medium onion — finely chopped
3 large clove garlic — minced
1 medium sweet green pepper — seeded and coarsely chopped
1 medium sweet red pepper — seeded and coarsely chopped
2 pounds fresh tomatoes — peeled, seeded and chopped (or 2 lbs. canned Italian plum tomatoes)
3 tablespoons tomato paste
2 cups dry white wine
1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1 tablespoon fresh oregano — minced
2 pounds fresh white fish — (sea bass, rock cod, halibut)
1 pound raw shrimp — peeled
1/4 cup fresh parsley — chopped
sourdough bread

Recipe Instructions
Ask the fish monger to crack the crab for you; or do it yourself. To do this, remove the legs from the crab and crack with a hammer or nut or lobster cracker. Remove the back from the body of the crab, remove the gills from this and wash under cold water. Break the body in half. Chill the crab until ready to add to the stew.

Place the clams in a heavy bottomed pan with 1 inch of water. Cover and cook over high heat; shaking occasionally, until the clams are open. Remove the clams and keep covered. Save the claim juice.

Place the olive oil, onions and peppers in a large Dutch kettle with half a teaspoon of salt and cook, stirring until the onions are translucent. Add the garlic and cook another minute. Add the tomatoes with the tomato paste, wine, pepper and oregano and continue cooking a minute more. Add all but the last spoonful of the claim juice. Simmer this mixture for about 20 minutes. Ten minutes before you are ready to serve, season the fish with salt and pepper and add to the hot soup base. Cover and let simmer 5 minutes. Season the shrimp and scallops and add to the mixture and let simmer another 5 minutes. Add the cooked crab, parsley and salt and pepper to taste.

Serve with plenty of sourdough bread.
Serves 8