Cioppino
A tomato-and-wine seafood stew loaded with Dungeness crab, clams, mussels, shrimp, and firm white fish, built to use whatever the day's catch brought in. Created by Genoese immigrant fishermen in San Francisco's North Beach in the late 1800s, who pooled their unsold catch into a shared pot; its name likely comes from ciuppin, a Ligurian dialect word for a similar fish stew, making cioppino a genuine Italian-American creation rather than an import from Italy.
Seafood
⚠ Contains: Shellfish, Fish. Always check your own ingredients — this isn't a guarantee for severe allergies.
Ingredients
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- 1 onion, diced
- 4 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 fennel bulb, diced, optional but traditional
- 1 can (28 oz) crushed tomatoes
- 1 cup dry white wine
- 2 cups fish or seafood stock
- 1 bay leaf
- 1/2 tsp dried oregano
- 1/4 tsp red pepper flakes
- 1 whole Dungeness crab, cleaned and cracked into pieces
- 1/2 lb clams, scrubbed
- 1/2 lb mussels, scrubbed and debearded
- 1/2 lb large shrimp, peeled and deveined
- 1/2 lb firm white fish, such as halibut or rockfish, cut into chunks
- Salt and black pepper, to taste
- Chopped parsley, for garnish
- Sourdough bread, for serving
Steps
- Heat the olive oil in a large pot over medium heat and saute the onion, garlic, and fennel until softened, about 5 minutes.
- Add the crushed tomatoes, white wine, seafood stock, bay leaf, oregano, and red pepper flakes, and simmer 20-25 minutes to develop the flavor.
- Season the broth with salt and pepper.
- Add the crab pieces and clams first, since they take longest, cover, and cook 5 minutes.
- Add the mussels, shrimp, and fish chunks. Cover and simmer 6-8 minutes until the shellfish open and the fish is opaque and cooked through.
- Discard any clams or mussels that didn't open.
- Ladle into bowls, dividing the seafood evenly, and garnish with chopped parsley.
- Serve immediately with warm sourdough bread.