An easy recipe for a traditional Italian-American fisherman's stew that originated in San Francisco. This recipe is a simple Cioppino that anyone can make. It's a tomato-based seafood stew all made in one pot!
Here's an easy Cioppino recipe for San Francisco-style seafood stew. It's a one-pot meal, easy to make, and it features your favorite types of seafood in a tomato-based broth. Delicious!
Do you ever visit a city just to taste its local food specialty? Please say yes, so I don't feel like I'm alone. Think about the opportunities: clam chowder in Boston, pizza in Naples, fish and chips in London, waffles in Bruges, macarons in Paris, mussels in Marseille . . . the list goes on.
While one of the top dishes popular with tourists in San Francisco is clam chowder in a sourdough bread bowl, the city is also the birthplace of Cioppino, an Italian-American fisherman's stew that is second to none.
Last time we were in San Francisco, I sought out Cioppino's, a Fishermen's Wharf restaurant noted for its cioppino. Let me tell you, it was an experience! When the waiter set my place with a stack of napkins, wet wipes, and a bib, I knew I was in for something special.
It took me a long time to eat my meal: a bowl brimming with rich tomato broth, full of crab, scallops, prawns, mussels, clams, calamari, and more.
Cioppino: a simple dish makes a memorable meal!
I had such great memories of that meal. A few years later, we were in an out-of-the-way beachfront restaurant near the westernmost point of Europe on the Portuguese coast. I quickly chose cioppino from the menu, as it was the house specialty.
While the list of truly memorable meals I've had over the years is getting longer, this one was certainly near the top.
Here on the West Coast, we have easy access to a variety of fresh wild-caught seafood. We take advantage of that whenever we can.
Using fresh or fresh-frozen seafood caught close to home guarantees that it is full of flavor and needs little else to complement it. For this recipe, use your favorite local seafood that's available where you live.
You'll feel like a Michelin Star chef when you serve this seafood stew, but you certainly don't need to be one. Here's my recipe for a simple cioppino that anyone can make. It makes a one-pot meal with whatever seafood you have available, all gently simmered in a flavourful tomato-based broth.
How to make Cioppino: a seafood stew
Here's an overview of what you'll do to make this San Francisco seafood stew. You'll find a list of ingredients with quantities and complete instructions in the recipe card below.
- The list of ingredients may seem long, but this is not a difficult recipe.
- Start by frying bacon. Sauté onion, celery, and fennel in the bacon fat until tender.
- Next, add garlic and shallots and cook for a minute or two longer.
- Stir in red pepper flakes and tomato paste, then add canned tomatoes, stock, white wine, and a bay leaf.
- Choose a total of 6 cups of seafood that is available where you live to make this delicious fishermen's stew. Some choices are white fish fillets like cod or tilapia, smoked salmon, shrimp or prawns, crab meat, fresh clams, fresh mussels, or scallops.
- Stir in the seafood and cook for 5 minutes or until just heated through. Don't overcook or your seafood will be tough and rubbery.
- Ladle into bowls and serve with crusty bread or buns.
📖 Recipe
Simple Cioppino that Anyone Can Make
Ingredients
- 4 slices bacon, sliced into 1 inch pieces
- 1 medium onion chopped
- 2 stalks celery chopped
- ½ head fennel thinly sliced
- 2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
- 1 large shallot finely chopped
- 1 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
- 2 tablespoon tomato paste
- 1 798ml (28 oz) can of tomatoes with juice
- 5 cups fish stock OR 2 cups clam juice and 3 cups chicken stock
- 1 cup dry white wine (optional)
- 1 bay leaf
- 6 cups seafood of your choice or more, such as:
- uncooked white fish fillets. I used Ling cod, chopped into 1 ½ inch pieces
- smoked salmon I used smoked wild sockeye salmon, chopped into 1 ½ inch pieces
- uncooked large shrimp or prawns, shelled
- crab meat
- fresh clams scrubbed
- fresh mussels scrubbed and debearded
- scallops
Instructions
- In a large, heavy-bottomed pot over medium-high heat, cook bacon until almost crispy. Add onion, celery, and fennel and cook 10 minutes or until onion is translucent.
- Add garlic and shallot and cook for 2 minutes more.
- Add red pepper flakes and tomato paste and stir until combined.
- Add canned tomatoes, stock, wine, and bay leaf.
- Cover, reduce heat to medium-low and simmer for 30 minutes to allow flavours to blend.
- Add a combination of fish and shellfish and cook for 5 minutes or until just cooked through and mussels and clams have opened (discard any that do not open)
- Remove bay leaf.
- Check seasoning and add sea salt and/or more red pepper flakes.
- Ladle into bowls and serve immediately with crusty bread.
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