Cioppino
soups
This seafood stew (pronounced 'Cho-Pee-No'), which normally features fresh shellfish, a tomato-based broth, and French bread, originated in San Francisco in the mid 20th century. My Dad Elmer considered this dish his specialty, and it was easily my favorite meal he made. Although this isn't his personal recipe, it's pretty close and definitely does the dish justice.
Ingredients
- 3 tablespoons of olive oil
- 1 large fennel bulb, thinly sliced
- 1 onion, chopped
- 3 large shallots, chopped
- 2 teaspoons of salt
- 4 large garlic cloves, finely chopped
- 1 teaspoon crushed red pepper
- 1/4 cup of tomato paste
- 2 large cans of diced tomatoes
- 1 bottle of dry white wine
- 5 cups of fish stock
- 1 bay leaf
- 1 pound of manilla clams, scrubbed
- 1 pound of mussels, scrubbed, debearded
- 1 pound of uncooked, jumbo shrimp, peeled and deveined
- 1.5 pounds of halibut or sea bass
- 1 pound of dungeness crab meat
Instructions
Step 1
Heat the oil in a very large pot over medium heat. Add the fennel, onion, shallots, and salt and saute until the onion is translucent, about 10 minutes.
Step 2
Add the garlic and 3/4 teaspoon of red pepper flakes, and saute 2 minutes. Stir in the tomato paste. Add tomatoes with their juices, wine, fish stock and bay leaf. Cover and bring to a simmer. Reduce the heat to medium-low. Cover and simmer until the flavors blend, about 30 minutes.
Step 3
Add the clams and mussels to the cooking liquid. Cover and cook until the clams and mussels begin to open, about 5 minutes. Add the shrimp and fish.
Step 4
Simmer gently until the fish and shrimp are just cooked through, and the clams are completely open, stirring gently, about 5 minutes longer (discard any clams and mussels that do not open).
Step 5
Season the soup, to taste, with more salt and red pepper flakes. Ladle the soup into bowls and serve.