AI-generated image
San Francisco cioppino
Fisherman's Wharf tomato and wine stew of crab, shellfish and fish
Cioppino was cooked by Italian and Portuguese fishermen in San Francisco's North Beach in the late 1800s from whatever was left of the day's catch, and it is now the big, messy, bib-wearing dinner of Fisherman's Wharf, especially in Dungeness crab season from November. The broth is tomato, garlic, herbs and white wine; for an alcohol-free version, use extra fish stock with a tablespoon of white wine vinegar. Serve with sourdough to mop it up. Chef's tip: add the seafood in stages, slowest-cooking first, so nothing turns rubbery.
- Total time
- 75 min
- Difficulty
- medium
- Serves
- 6
Ingredients
- 4 tbsp olive oil
- 1 onionchopped
- 1 fennel bulbthinly sliced
- 5 cloves garlicsliced
- ½ tsp chilli flakes
- 2 tbsp tomato purée
- 1 ¾ lb chopped tomatoes
- 2 cups fish stock
- 1 tsp dried oregano
- 1 ⅛ lb live clamsscrubbed
- 1 ⅛ lb live musselsscrubbed and debearded
- 10 ½ oz large raw prawnsshell on
- 14 oz firm white fish (halibut, cod)in 4 cm chunks
- 1 handful fresh basiltorn
- 2 tbsp parsleychopped
- 6 slices sourdough breadtoasted, to serve
Shop this recipe on Amazon
Spices & pantry
Fresh ingredients (8)
Links open Amazon in a new tab. As an Amazon Associate, WhatToEat.Today earns from qualifying purchases.
Method
0/6 doneStep 1: Check the 1 ⅛ lb live clams and 1 ⅛ lb live mussels: throw away any with cracked shells or that stay open when tapped firmly.
5 minStep 2: Heat the 4 tbsp olive oil in a very large pot over a medium heat and cook the 1 onion and 1 fennel bulb for 8 minutes until soft. Add the 5 cloves garlic, ½ tsp chilli flakes and 2 tbsp tomato purée for 2 minutes.
10 minStep 3: Pour in the 1 cup dry white wine (or extra fish stock + 1 tbsp vinegar) and boil for 3 minutes, then add the 1 ¾ lb chopped tomatoes, 2 cups fish stock, 2 bay leaves and 1 tsp dried oregano and simmer for 20 minutes until slightly thickened.
23 minStep 4: Add the cracked 1 cooked Dungeness or brown crab, cleaned and cracked and the clams, cover and cook for 4 minutes. Add the mussels, 10 ½ oz large raw prawns and 14 oz firm white fish (halibut, cod), cover and cook 5–6 minutes more without stirring, just shaking the pot.
10 minStep 5: It is ready when the clams and mussels have opened, the prawns are pink right through and the fish is opaque and flakes. Throw away any shellfish that stay shut. A common mistake is stirring, which breaks up the fish.
1 minStep 6: Scatter with 1 handful fresh basil and 2 tbsp parsley and serve in wide bowls with the 6 slices sourdough bread and an empty bowl for shells.
2 min
Nutrition per serving
- Calories
- 390 kcal
- Protein
- 42 g
- Carbs
- 14 g
- Fat
- 14 g
- Fibre
- 3 g
Nutrition values are estimates.
KrazyBadal
Good to know
- How long does san Francisco cioppino take?
- About 75 minutes in total: 30 minutes to prepare and 45 minutes to cook.
- How many people does it serve?
- 6 as written. Change the servings above the ingredients and every amount scales to match.
- What can I use instead of onion?
- 2 shallots per onion.
- What can I use instead of garlic?
- ½ tsp garlic paste or ⅛ tsp garlic powder per clove.
Reviews
No reviews yet. Be the first to cook it.
Rate this recipe
Sign in to rate and review this recipe.
You might also like
Moreton Bay bugsSlipper lobster with garlic butter
Moreton Bay bugs are the flat, shovel-nosed slipper lobsters caught off the Queensland coast around Brisbane and the Sunshine Coast, and for Queenslanders they are a summer treat, split and grilled at the beach house. The tail meat is sweet and rich, somewhere between lobster and prawn. Buy them raw, frozen or fresh, from a fishmonger and ask them to halve them if you like. A common mistake is overcooking, which makes the meat rubbery; it is ready the moment it turns white. Chef's tip: grill flesh side down first to mark it, then turn and baste in the shell.
Australian
Midia saganakiMussels with tomato and feta
Thessaloniki is Greece's mussel capital, with farms in the Thermaic Gulf a few kilometres from the seafront ouzeries where this two-handled pan arrives, still bubbling, at the table. Mussels steam open in a quick sauce of peppers, tomato and chilli, and crumbled feta melts into the juices at the end. Bread is essential. The classic version adds a splash of ouzo; this one is alcohol-free, using a pinch of fennel seed for that aniseed note (add 2 tbsp ouzo with the tomatoes if you like). Common mistake: overcooking — take the pan off the heat as soon as the shells open. Chef's tip: buy mussels on the day and keep them in the fridge in a bowl covered with a damp cloth, never in water.
Greek
All i pebreEel and potato paprika stew
In El Palmar and the other villages around the Albufera lagoon south of Valencia, the restaurants that are famous for paella serve something older first: all i pebre, "garlic and pepper", a brick-red stew of lagoon eel and potatoes thickened with a pounded almond and fried-bread picada. It is rich, garlicky and gently hot, eaten with bread to mop up the sauce. Ask your fishmonger to skin and cut the eel, and handle it with gloves: raw eel blood is irritating, though harmless once cooked. If you can't find eel, monkfish or hake works well. A common mistake is letting the paprika burn; it turns bitter in seconds, so add it off the heat. Chef's tip: break the potatoes with a knife instead of cutting cleanly; the rough edges release starch and thicken the sauce.
Spanish