One-Pot Cioppino (San Francisco Seafood Stew)
- Total
- 55 min
- Active
- 20 min
- Serves
- 4
- Level
- moderate
Cioppino started as a fisherman's stew on the San Francisco docks, built from whatever came off the boat that day. The logic still holds: a garlicky tomato-wine broth, then seafood added in the order it needs to cook, so nothing turns rubbery before anything else is done. One pot, start to finish, then bread for what's left in the bowl.
Ingredients
Method
-
Heat the olive oil in a Dutch oven over medium heat. Add the onion and fennel and cook, stirring occasionally, until soft and turning translucent, about 10 minutes.
10 min -
Stir in the garlic and red pepper flakes and cook until fragrant, about 1 minute — any longer and the garlic turns bitter.
1 min -
Add the crushed tomatoes, wine, stock, bay leaf and oregano. Bring to a boil, then lower to a steady simmer, uncovered, until the broth smells more like tomato than raw wine, about 12 minutes.
12 min -
Season the broth with salt and pepper, then lower in the fish pieces. Cover and simmer gently until the fish turns from translucent to opaque, about 145°F/63°C, about 4 minutes. Keep the heat low enough that the broth barely bubbles, or the fish breaks apart before the shellfish catch up.
4 min -
Nestle the mussels into the broth hinge-side down, cover, and cook until they just start to crack open, about 4 minutes.
4 min -
Add the shrimp and squid, cover, and cook until the shrimp turn pink and opaque and the mussels have fully opened, about 4 minutes. Discard any mussel that hasn't opened by now.
4 min -
Take the pot off the heat, fish out the bay leaf, and stir in half the parsley.
-
Ladle into wide bowls, scatter with the remaining parsley and reserved fennel fronds, and serve with lemon wedges and crusty bread for mopping up the broth.
Substitutions
- Mussels — Clams, scrubbed the same way and added at the same step.
- Squid — An extra half pound of shrimp or white fish, added with the shrimp.
- White fish — Any firm fillet — cod, halibut or snapper. Skip flaky fish like tilapia; it falls apart in the broth.
- Fish stock or clam juice — Chicken stock with an extra splash of wine, though the broth loses some of its sea flavor.
Storing leftovers
Cioppino is best the day it's made, since reheated seafood turns rubbery. Leftover broth keeps two days in the fridge and reheats well on its own; warm leftover seafood in it gently, just until hot, rather than letting it simmer again.
Questions
Can I make the broth ahead?
Yes. The tomato-wine broth keeps three days in the fridge or two months frozen. Bring it to a simmer and add the seafood only when you're ready to eat.
What if I can't find squid?
Leave it out and add an extra half pound of shrimp or white fish instead. The stew holds together fine with two kinds of seafood.
Do I need to buy fish stock?
Bottled clam juice, sold near the canned tuna in most grocery stores, works just as well — it's really what gives the broth its sea flavor.
A mussel didn't open. Is it safe to eat?
No, discard any mussel that stays closed after cooking. It means it was dead before it went into the pot.