EASY ELEGANT CIOPPINO

EASY ELEGANT CIOPPINO image

Yield Serves 2 - 4

Number Of Ingredients 16

1/3 lb fresh sea scallops
1/3 lb fresh peeled & deveined shrimp
8-12 fresh or frozen mussels in shells
2 tsp olive oil
1/2 med. Vidalia or other sweet onion sliced
1/2 med. yellow bell pepper sliced
1/2 med. red bell pepper sliced
2 med. garlic cloves minced
6 small new (red) potatoes quartered
2 cups canned whole tomatoes (incl. juice) broken up
2 TBS tomato paste
1 cup bottled clam juice
1/8 tsp red pepper flakes
2 TBS balsamic vinegar
Salt & fresh ground pepper to taste
1/4 cup fresh basil chopped

Steps:

Wash scallops and pat dry. Remove shells and devein shrimp, rinse and pat dry. Thaw mussels, if necessary, under cold running water. Let drain and put aside. Heat oil in a medium skillet on medium-high. Sautee shrimp and scallops until just cooked through, about 2 minutes. Remove from pan. Using same skillet, sautee onion, peppers, and garlic adding a little more oil, if necessary, for 3 miutes. Add potatoes, tomatoes, tomato paste, clam juice, and red pepper flakes. Bring to a simmer, cover, and cook for 10 minutes. Add mussels, shrimp, and scallops. Cook covered for 5 minutes or until potatoes are fork tender and mussels have opened. Add balsamic vinegar, salt, and pepper. Remove from heat. Divide into bowls. Sprinkle basil on top and serve.