San Francisco Cioppino
If you have ever been to San Francisco’s Fisherman’s Wharf, you’ve most likely heard of or had Cioppino. It is called a “Fisherman’s Stew,” originating right in San Francisco by the Italian community in North Beach in the 1800’s. After a day of fishing off the coast, fisherman would take the leftover fish, chop into pieces and literally make a tomato based stew. It is similar to the French version of seafood stew called bouillabaisse, with the main difference cioppino is tomato based and bouillabaisse has tomatoes and saffron added in.
We have a few signature dishes, that we happily share often with friends and family, and cioppino is one of them. The first time we made this dish we lived outside of San Francisco. After a fishing trip we found ourselves with 6 crabs and 2 salmon that we had to use. So we went and bought a huge stockpot, several cans of tomatoes and a bit more fish, we invited family and friends over the next night. Our version of cioppino was a hit and we’ve been making it for the last 20+ years.
Since this is essentially a stew it starts with the basics; onion, bell peppers and garlic sautéed in a bit of olive oil.
Use the largest Dutch oven or stock pot available.
This is the 13 qt. size as the shellfish will fill it up quickly
Once sauteed, add the dried herbs and spices.
Add the tomatoes as the sauce begins to form.
We love the Italian San Marzano tomatoes. They are a bit more expensive but worth it.
Next, comes the wine and chicken broth to round out the sauce for stew.
Use an assortment of shellfish and fish, finding what’s freshest in the grocer. Dungeness crab is the key to making this an authentic San Francisco cioppino.
Fresh crab season in Northern California usually runs March - February. Since we don’t live in California anymore we do have to sometimes resort to previously frozen, which, if you carefully select, works fine. Costco is our go-to for seafood. On this day they had the crab clusters seen below so I did not have to clean whole crabs.
Be sure to keep the mussels and clams well refrigerated until ready to steam or they will begin to open up and no longer be safe to eat.
Once the stew has cooked for about 30 minutes, the next steps go quickly in pulling the fish portion of the cioppino together.
Add the shrimp and scallops first.
Allow the shrimp and scallops some time to cook in the stew. Once the shrimp are pink and the scallops firm they are done. If using a salmon or white fish, add at this time as well.
Now it’s looking like a stew.
Some recipes call to simply place the mussels and clams in the stew to cook and open up. We have found more consistent results steaming separately and adding once they are all opened up.
At this point everything is cooked and now needs just to blend and warm the crab. I recommend putting the lid back on to ensure the sauce does not evaporate.
Serve in warmed bowls. A simple salad for the side and bread to dip complete this meal. And of course a little wine!
San Francisco Cioppino
Ingredients
- 3 bell peppers - mix of red, yellow and/or orange, finely chopped
- 1 large onion, finely chopped
- 6 cloves fresh garlic, minced
- 28 oz can of San Marzano tomatoes, chopped
- 1/3 cup olive oil
- 1 each tablespoon Dried oregano and basil
- 2 tablespoons fresh parsley + more for garnish
- Salt and pepper
- 2 tablespoons tomato paste
- 1 bottle, white wine
- 32 oz fish stock (or chicken broth)
- 18 shrimp - peeled, tail on
- 24 mussels
- 24 little neck clams
- 2 Dungeness crabs, cooked, cleaned and pieced
- 18 scallops
- If desired add cod, or other firm white fish in large bite size pieces
Instructions
- In a large stock pot or large Dutch oven, sauté the onions and peppers in olive oil just until softened, about 2 minutes
- Add salt, pepper, oregano, basil and parsley. Sauté a minute more
- Add garlic and tomato paste and sauté for 30 seconds
- Add 1/2 of the wine and let simmer uncovered until reduced by half about 20 minutes
- After reducing, add the chopped tomatoes, stock and the rest of the wine. Simmer covered 30 minutes to allow flavors to blend.
- In a separate stock pan with steam basket inserted, heat water to boiling. Add the clams and mussels and steam until all are open, about 10 minutes. If there are some of the mussels and clams are unopened, steam a few minutes more. Before adding to the cioppino stock discard any unopened clams or mussels.
- While the mussels and clams are steaming, add the shrimp and scallops to the cioppino stock. If using other fish, add as well. Place the lid on and let cook until fish is firm and shrimp are pink, about 5-10 minutes. Next add the Dungeness crab with legs apart from the cleaned body and bodies cut in half. Add the steamed mussels and clams. Stir carefully ensuring all the fish and shellfish is covered at least partially with the cioppino stock. Cover and simmer on low until all is heated through, about 15-20 minutes.
- Once heated, spoon into individual bowls, top with parsley. Serve with lots of bread on the side to sop up the sauce. Enjoy!
