san francisco cioppino

Considered the signature dish of San Francisco, Cioppino is a wonderful seafood stew that is perfect for entertaining and holidays.  Serve this with crusty sourdough bread to sop up all the delicious broth for a truly Californian dining experience!

San Francisco Cioppino

butter

onion (chopped)

fennel bulb (thinly sliced)

garlic (minced)

parsley (chopped)

basil

salt

thyme

oregano

red pepper flakes

white wine (optional - can replace with additional fish or chicken stock)

tomatoes

fish

bay leaves

clams

mussels (scrubbed and debearded)

crab (I used 1 whole cooked Dungeness crab, with its legs removed from its body)

shrimp

bay scallops

basil and parsley (chopped, for garnish)

Melt the butter over medium heat in a large stock pot, then add the onion, fennel, garlic, parsley, sauteing until the onions are soft, about 10 minutes.  Add the garlic, basil, salt, thyme, oregano, and red pepper flakes and saute 2 minutes longer.

Add the white wine, crushed and diced tomatoes, fish stock, and bay leaves, then cover and reduce the heat to medium-low.  Simmer for 30 minutes so the flavors can blend.  While the meat simmers, prepare the crab by removing the crab legs from the body (if not already done for you) and using a nutcracker to crack the shells (leave the meat in the shell) so that the meat can be easily removed once the cioppino is served.

Increase the heat to medium and add the clams and mussels to the broth and cook for 5 minutes until they start to open.  Then add the crab legs and cook for another minute, followed by the shrimp and scallops.  Finally, lay the chunks of cod on top of the broth and cover and cook for 3-5 minutes until the mussels and clams are open, the shrimp curl and the scallops are just firm.

Ladle the cioppino into large bowls garnish with chopped fresh parsley and basil.  Serve with warm, crusty sourdough bread!  Have plenty of napkins, extra bowls for shells, and nutcrackers and tiny forks on hand for the crab.  

Loads of fresh seafood in a rich and flavorful tomato wine broth, cioppino is delicious and surprisingly simple to make!

Cioppino (Fisherman's Stew)

olive oil

onion

shallots (finely chopped)

leek (thinly sliced)

fennel (thinly sliced)

tsp salt

bay leaf

tsp crushed red pepper flakes

tomato paste

dry white wine

8 oz bottle of clam juice

28 oz can of crushed tomatoes

seafood stock

scallops

lb firm white fish

lb clams

lbs mussels

parsley

lemon wedges

In a large, heavy bottom dutch oven, heat olive oil over medium heat. Add onion, leek, fennel, shallots and salt and saute until soft and translucent, about 10 minutes.

Add garlic, red pepper flakes and cook for another minute until fragrant. Stir in tomato paste and cook for another 1-2 minutes.

Add wine and boil for about 5 minutes until reduced. Add in clam juice, stock and crushed tomatoes and bring to a simmer. Turn heat down to medium-low, cover and let broth simmer for 30 minutes, allowing the flavors to meld.

Add the clams and mussels to the simmering broth, cover and cook for about 5 minutes until they start to open. Uncover and add in fish and scallops and cook for 1-2 minutes until they start to turn opaque. Add in shrimp and cook for another 2-3 minutes until they turn pink.

Use a slotted spoon to discard any clams or mussels that did not open. Sprinkle in fresh parsley and serve in big bowls with lemon wedges and lots of crusty bread.

We love seafood in this house so this dish was well received and loved! Thanks for the recipe!!

This stew has so much FLAVOR, girl! I’m so amazed at how easily it all came together. A must make recipe!

I love the choose your own adventure style of this soup. Made mine with lots of shrimp and redfish as that was looking particularly good at the market last weekend. It's so easy and tasty. Will be making it again!

We loved this cioppino so much! I served it for our Saturday dinner, which we always eat al fresco, with a homemade loaf of Italian bread. So delicious and comforting.

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Cioppino (Fisherman's Stew)

Top 2 san francisco cioppino recipes from across the web

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San Francisco Cioppino

Cioppino (Fisherman's Stew)

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