Authentic San Francisco Cioppino Seafood Stew

Authentic San Francisco Cioppino Seafood Stew

from houseofnasheats.com
65 min
6 servings

Considered by many to be 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!

Ingredients

  • ½ cup butter
  • 1 onion (chopped)
  • 1 fennel bulb (thinly sliced)
  • 4 cloves garlic (minced)
  • ½ bunch fresh parsley (chopped)
  • 1 tablespoon dried basil
  • 1 teaspoon kosher salt
  • ½ teaspoon dried thyme
  • ½ teaspoon dried oregano
  • ½ teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
  • 1 ½ cups white wine (optional - can replace with additional fish or chicken stock)
  • 1 28-ounce can crushed tomatoes
  • 1 14.5-ounce can diced tomatoes
  • 5 cups fish or seafood stock*
  • 2 bay leaves
  • 1 pound small clams
  • 1 pound mussels (scrubbed and debearded)
  • 2 pounds crab (I used 1 whole cooked Dungeness crab**, with its legs removed from its body)
  • 1 pound uncooked large shrimp (peeled and deveined)
  • 1 pound bay scallops
  • ½ pound cod fillet (cut into large chunks (or other firm-fleshed fish like halibut or salmon))
  • Fresh basil and parsley (chopped, for garnish)

Directions

  1. 1

    Melt the butter over medium heat in a large dutch oven, 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.

  2. 2

    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 broth 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.

  3. 3

    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.

  4. 4

    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.