Cioppino
With a nod to our Northern California roots, we gave this hearty Cioppino a shot. We celebrated my dad’s birthday in December and thought we’d try something out of the ordinary. It’s surprisingly easy, don’t be put off by the long list of ingredients! It might look intimidating, but it’s quite simple and adaptable.
Mike got creative with a homemade shrimp stock from shells we had in the freezer the day before. It’s great to have a stash of odds and ends for a batch of stock. Then we made a tasty version of Cioppino loosely based on a recipe from the Culinary Institute of America’s Book of Soups.
Dad and I tag-teamed a loaf of bread to accompany, and it was excellent sopping up the lovely soup!
Cioppino
Surprisingly easy, Cioppino is hearty and delicious for a special occasion or celebration. A Northern California classic and worth the extensive ingredient list. It may look intimidating, but actually quite simple, and you can tailor it to your taste.
Ingredients
Ingredients
- 1 tbsp Olive Oil
- 1 bunches Scallions sliced (1 ½ cups)
- 1 Green Peppers diced (2 cups)
- 1 Onion diced (1 ¼ cups)
- ¾ cups diced fennel bulb
- 5 cloves Garlic minced
- ½ cup white wine
- 3 cups fish broth homemade if possible
- 4 cups canned Italian Plum Tomatoes drained and chopped
- 1 15 oz can tomato puree
- 2 bay leaves
- 1/4 tsp Anchovy Paste
- 1/2 tsp Sweet Paprika
- 1/4 tsp Cayenne pepper
- 1 tsp salt to taste
- Ground black pepper to taste
- 8 little neck clams scrubbed well
- 1 pound can lump crab meat
- 8 medium shrimp peeled and deveined
- ½ pound swordfish or halibut diced
- 1 ½ tbsp shredded basil
Instructions
Directions
- Heat the oil in a soup pot over medium heat. Add scallions, peppers, onion, and fennel. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the onion is translucent, 6-8 minutes.
- Add the garlic and cook, 30 seconds.
- Add the white wine, bring to a boil, and cook until the volume of the wine is reduced by about half, 4-6 minutes.
- Add the fish broth (we made fresh broth from frozen shrimp shells, fish bones, and aromatics), tomatoes, tomato puree, and bay leaves. Cover the pot and simmer the mixture slowly, about 45 minutes. Add a small amount of water or more broth, if necessary. Cioppino should be more a broth than a stew. Add anchovy paste, paprika, cayenne, season with salt and pepper, and taste, adjusting as you like. If you’re not ready to serve, you can continue to simmer, but once the seafood is added do not delay service. Remove and discard the bay leaves.
- Add the clams and simmer about 10 minutes. Discard any clams that do not open. Add the shrimp and fish to the soup. Simmer until the fish is just cooked through, about 5 minutes. Add the crab and basil and adjust the seasoning if necessary.
Notes
Serve in heated bowls with crusty sourdough bread.
Adapted from Culinary Institute of America Book of Soups
