Roasted Chiopino with Clams, Shrimp, and Fish

Chiopino is a delicious seafood stew that I first tried in San Fransisco, where it originated. Now I get excited every time I see it on a menu. A light, but rich tomato broth forms the base of this stew. I like to roast the tomatoes to make the broth even more flavorful. The seafood poaches perfectly in the broth and adds more flavor to the dish. The very best part is using the toasted sourdough bread to soak up the sauce. Heaven. Mark and I went to town on what should have really been a portion of 4. We love it too much to stop eating it. We only had about 1 1/2 cups of broth leftover (no seafood left) so I tried a little experiment. I froze that and thawed it out a few weeks later. I brought it to a low boil and add some frozen shrimp for a last minute meal. Also divine and good to know that it doesn't go to waste if you have some leftover.
Roasted Chiopino with Clams, Shrimp, and Fish (serves 4)
Ingredients:
6 roma tomatoes
2 onions
3 cloves garlic
1/2 tsp. thyme
1/2 tsp. rosemary
2 cups white wine
3 stalks celery
1 lb. clams
2 medium fillets firm white fish (like tilapia)
12 medium shrimp
sourdough bread
salt and pepper
olive oil
parsley (for garnish)

1. To make the broth, I like to roast the vegetables and then I will blend them with wine in the blender. Cut the tomatoes in half and coarsely chop one onion. You can leave the garlic whole. Sprinkle with herbs, salt and pepper, and drizzle with olive oil.
2. Roast at 425 degrees for 45 minutes until tender and slightly caramelized.
3. Blend in the blender with white wine so that it forms a creamy broth.
4. Dice the other onion and celery into a medium dice. In a large, heavy-bottom pot with 2 Tbs. olive oil, sweat the vegetables over medium heat. Sprinkle with salt and pepper.
5. After letting them sweat for 10 minutes, add the broth and bring to a low boil.
6. Cut the fish into 1 inch pieces and add to the broth.
7. Now add the clams.
Note: Wash the clams in cold water and check them out before throwing them in. If there were any clams that were open, don't thrown them into the pot. You should discard them. After they are cooked, they will all open up. If any do not open after you cook them, you should discard those too.

8. Add the shrimp last because they cook very quickly. They should only take 3-4 minutes until they are pink and cooked through.
9. Toast up the bread and then dish up the stew.
Sprinkle with parsley and make sure you get clams, shrimp, and fish in your dish.
Go to town!