Cioppino, San Francisco Fisherman’s Stew

Welcome to Sunday Supper! Today we have a beloved San Francisco dish. Invented in the late 1800’s by the Italian fishermen of San Francisco’s North Beach. Cioppino is a healthy, hearty tomato-based seafood stew that contained the leftover seafood from the day’s catch. So you can get creative with your favorite seafood and shellfish. I have a seafood blend from Trader Joe’s with scallops, shrimp and calamari. Also, I have some wild caught Alaska cod and Bar Harbor canned clams.

You can certainly go with fresh clams and mussels, shells and all, which is what you get when you order this at a restaurant, but I happened to have some seafood in the freezer! Crab meat would be another great addition. I found that if you have a generally well-stocked pantry, you may not even have to make a trip to the grocery store for this stew.

Cioppino Base

This first ingredients for the Cioppino base are celery, onion, olive oil, salt, and pepper. Dice the onion and celery and mince the garlic cloves. Get a few tablespoons of olive oil hot in a large pot or Dutch oven over medium heat. Add the celery, onion, and a good pinch of salt and pepper. Cook until the onion and celery soften, about 5-7 minutes.

Then add the garlic, and crushed red pepper flakes. Stir to combine and cook for 1-2 minutes. Add the tomato paste, stir to combine and cook one more minute. Then add the white wine, bring to a simmer and reduce by half, about 7-10 minutes.

I have a 28 ounce can of San Marzano tomatoes that I crushed by hand. Also, I didn’t have vegetable broth on hand so I made some by dissolving a teaspoon and a half of Vegetable Better Than Bouillon in 1.5 cups of boiling water. I have two 6.5 ounce cans of Bar Harbor chopped sea clams in salt water. A classic Cioppino recipe will call for 8 ounces of clam juice, but I am just going to use the water that the clams were packed in. Although the clam juice will have a deeper clam flavor, the water has a briny flavor to it, which suits me fine.

Once reduced, add the crushed tomatoes and their juice, the vegetable or seafood broth, clam juice (or liquid from the can) and bay leaves. Stir to combine and bring to a boil. Then, reduce the heat to low, cover and simmer for 25 minutes.

After the base has simmered for 25-30 minutes, you can stop here and proceed with the addition of the seafood at a later time, even the next day, if you want. This a great one-pot stew to start early in the day, then finish with the seafood for dinner. If you do decide to do it this way, just be sure to bring the base back up to a boil and then simmer to thoroughly heat through before adding the seafood.

Adding the Seafood to the Cioppino

Add the clams, the scallops, shrimp and calamari. Then add the cod (halibut, bass or other white fish). Cover and let simmer for 5 minutes or until the seafood has become firm and opaque. Taste the broth and add more salt and pepper if desired. Stir in some fresh chopped flat leaf parsley and ladle into bowls. Serve with crusty sourdough bread.

This is such a wonderful stew! I didn’t add any more salt and pepper; the flavor is so rich from everything that went in it from the vegetable broth, to the crushed tomatoes. I have so many memories of eating this stew on foggy, cold winter (and summer) days in San Fransisco; it just hits all the right notes. Few things will warm you up and fill you with satisfaction on a chilly day like Cioppino.

Well everyone, I hope you give this old San Francisco stew a try. It’s naturally healthy and really easy. It comes together pretty quick and it’s super delicious! If you’re looking for another easy-to-make, restaurant-worthy Italian dish, try Bucatini all’Amatriciana. Thank you all for spending some of your Sunday with me. Keep in touch, follow me on Instagram, facebook and Pinterest. Take care and be well! xo Kelly

Print Recipe

Cioppino

(11 votes, average: 4.36 out of 5)

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Dinner, Main Course – American/Italian

By Kelly Djalali – Serves: 4-8

Prep Time: 15 Minutes – Cooking Time: ~45 Minutes – Total Time: ~ 1 Hour

This tomato-based seafood stew is a naturally healthy, super comforting one-pot meal that you can make with any variety of seafood you like.

Ingredients

• 2 tbsp. extra-virgin olive oil
• 1/2 Onion, diced
• 2-3 Celery Ribs, diced
• 1 tsp. Kosher Salt
• 1/2 tsp. Black Pepper
• 3 Garlic Cloves, minced
• 1/2 tsp. Red Pepper Flakes
• 1/2 tbsp. Tomato Paste
• 1 tsp. Dried Oregano
• 1 cup Dry White Wine
• 1 28-oz. Can San Marzano Tomatoes, hand crushed
• 2 Bay Leaves
• 1 8-oz. Bottle Clam Juice (can leave out and use the canned clam water)
• 1.5 cups Seafood Stock or Vegetable Stock
• 2 6.5-oz Cans of Clams (plus the packing water, if not using clam juice)
• 1 16-oz. Bag of Shrimp, Scallops and Calamari (or any combination you prefer), defrosted
• 1 lb. Skinless Flaky White Fish like Cod, Bass, Halibut, or Haddock, cut into 1-inch pieces
• 2-3 tbsp. Flat-leaf Parsley, chopped

Instructions

1

In a large pot over medium heat, heat oil.

2

Add onion, celery, salt, pepper and cook, stirring occasionally, until softened, about 5-7 minutes.

3

Add the minced garlic and red-pepper flakes. Continue to cook, stirring constantly, until garlic is fragrant, 1 to 2 minutes.

4

Add tomato paste and oregano and cook, stirring, 1 minute.

5

Add wine, raise heat to medium-high, and cook until cooking liquid is reduced by half, 5 to 7 minutes.

6

Add tomatoes with their juice, bay leaves, clam juice, and stock. Bring to a boil, reduce to a simmer and cook, covered, for 25-30 minutes.

7

Taste and adjust seasoning.

8

Add clams, shrimp, calamari and scallops.

9

Arrange the fish on top of the stew, cover, and simmer until the fish and shrimp are firm and opaque, about 5 minutes more. Discard bay leaves and stir in parsley.