Monday, September 17, 2012

Charlotte and easy-peasy cioppino


My friend Charlotte was chic, creative, witty, well-read, a fantastic cook and an ideal roommate. I was just out of my troubled first marriage, so moving in with her surely was one of the best things that ever happened to me.



Charlotte and I lived in a bright and tastefully decorated condo with a glimpse of the Pacific Ocean, and the two of us had a marvelous time together--never mind that she was my mom's age. We cooked elaborate dinners for friends, watched great movies, did fun bike rides and went on 5K walks for causes (sometimes just for the free t-shirts).

Every night when she came home from her job as a real estate agent, she'd measure herself exactly four ounces of scotch in a small Pyrex measuring cup, sipping it all evening mixed with water and ice, and then she’d cook something tasty for herself. When she was young, she lived for a time in the French part of Switzerland, so she taught me a thing or two about French cooking. Charlotte whipped up fantastic garlicky vinaigrettes in her big well-seasoned wooden bowl or roasted a chicken with fresh herbs that would ensconce us in mouthwatering smells. I picked up her skills quickly, although my addition of sugar to the vinaigrette made her eyebrows rise.

I remember her telling me in her catchy voice that a proper French fish stew was very time-consuming to prepare and required a homemade broth fortified with fish heads--ewww-- and bones among other things. So when I asked her about a recipe I found in a magazine for cioppino, San Francisco ’s answer to bouillabaisse, she deemed it as too unsophisticated.


 I eventually did make the cioppino, and she liked it even though it doesn’t measure up to the deep-layered flavor and complexity of a Charlotte stew. Yet it is straightforward--chock full of ripe, juicy tomatoes simmered with garlic in fruity olive oil, emitting the subtle flavor of white wine. My cioppino tastes full and sweet with just a hint of heat. The fish and seafood are perfectly poached and each piece stays distinctly its own. I serve it with crusty French bread or over a little mound of cooked Acini de Pepe (pasta in the shape of a peppercorn), with a sprinkle of finely chopped bright and fragrant Italian parsley.




Sadly, Charlotte is no longer with us, and I still miss her, but then I can always find solace in this simple cioppino.

Cioppino
Adapted from a newspaper, possibly the San Diego Union
4 servings

½ pound ocean scallops
¾ pound non-oily, firm-fleshed fish like halibut or red snapper
½ pound shrimp
1 ½ pounds red ripe tomatoes, preferable plum tomatoes, cored
(I sometimes use really good canned tomatoes)
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 large garlic clove, finely minced
½ cup finely chopped onion
1 cup dry white wine
1 bay leaf
1 finely minced jalapeno (with seeds if you like some heat)
2 Tb finely chopped Italian parsley

Leave scallops whole, cut fish into 1-inch cubes and peel and devein shrimp, set aside.

Cut tomatoes into ½ inch cubes. There should be about three cups or so, set aside.

Heat oil in a heavy skillet and add garlic and onion. Cook over low heat, stirring, until onion is wilted, at least 5 minute, add wine.

Cook briefly and add tomatoes, bay leaf, jalapeno, salt and pepper. Bring to a boil and cover closely. Let simmer about 10 minutes or until tomatoes have become soft.

Add fish and seafood and stir gently until it’s no longer translucent, about 5 minutes. Remove bay leaf. Adjust seasonings, sprinkle with parsley and serve.

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