Cioppino

Here's a fun, simple and somewhat easy recipe that Ngoc suggested we try last Friday evening. The hardest part is getting all the seafood from your local grocer!

As far as I know, the central tenant of cioppino is a tomato-based soup, with, at the very least, crab, some shellfish, and a white fish of choice. Believe it or not, Cioppino isn't some age-old Italian recipe. It was actually developed by Italian fisherman in the wharfs of San Francisco mid 1800's.

Cioppino

From the Sea:

1/2 crab, precooked (bite me)

1 lb white fish of your choice, fresh (cod, red/pacific snapper, halibut)

1 lb either mussels or clams

1 dozen medium prawns

From the Land:

2 medium onions, chopped

4 cloves garlic, diced

1 tsp. dried oregano

1/2 tsp. chili powder

1 tsp. salt

1/2 tsp. black pepper, ground

2 tbsp. tomato paste

1 28 oz. can whole tomatos, sliced, juice reserved

1 cup chicken broth

1 cup dry white wine

1 cup bottled clam juice

1 bay leaf

3 tbsp. olive oil

Start out browning your onions in the olive oil in a pot over medium high heat. Add oregano, chili powder, bay leaf, and stir constantly. Once onions are brown, add garlic and simmer for 1 minutes. Add tomato paste, and stir until dissolved.

Reduce heat and add white wine. Reduce for 4 - 5 minutes, and then add remaining wet ingredients, tomatoes, broth, and clam juice. Once warm, taste and season with salt and black pepper as necessary. Allow to stew on low heat for 30 minutes

If using uncooked shrimp, add the shells, shrimp, and fish and cook for 5 minutes. Cooked shrimp should instead be added with crab. Add crab and stew for another few minutes until hot. Serve immediately with toasted sourdough bread.


This should result in a medium hot Cioppino. If you like it spicy, crank up the powdered chili to a full tsp. or more! You can also easily add long grain rice to this and turn it into a Jambalaya-ish stew.