Cioppino with Littleneck Clams

Ingredients

• 2 pounds roma tomatoes, quartered
• 4 cloves garlic, peeled & smashed
• 2 tablespoons olive oil, divided
• ½ teaspoon fine kosher salt, divided
• 1 cup whole-milk ricotta, drained of excess moisture
• 1 lemon, coarsely zested
• 1 yellow onion, finely diced
• 1 small fennel bulb, finely diced
• 1 teaspoon fennel seeds, crushed
• 1 teaspoon smoked paprika
• 1 teaspoon dried thyme
• 1 pinch saffron threads
• 1 large bay leaf
• ½ teaspoon red chili flakes
• ½ teaspoon cracked black pepper, divided
• 1 cup dry white wine, plus ¼ cup for steaming clams
• 2 cups fish stock
• 3 tablespoons red wine vinegar
• 1 tablespoon granulated sugar
• ½ cup crab claw meat
• 4 ounces dry-cured chorizo, sliced into ¼-inch rounds and then quartered
• 1 pound prepared monkfish tail fillets, cut into 12 equal pieces
• ¼ cup all-purpose flour, for dredging
• About 30 pieces of large shrimp, raw, peeled and deveined
• 1 tablespoon unsalted butter
• 20 littleneck clams (1½ to 2 inches in size), cleaned
• 4 thick slices sourdough bread
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1 garlic clove, peeled
• A handful fresh flat-leaf parsley, roughly chopped