Easy to make San Francisco Style Cioppino at home

If you like seafood, you may be curious about San Francisco Style Cioppino. Originally from Genoa, Italy, this dish is made with fish, fresh tomatoes, and seafood stock. It is served with toasted bread, which acts as a starch for the soup. The fish broth has a strong tomato flavor and is rich and flavorful. It is an excellent option for casual dinner parties or dinners with friends.

I went to London the summer after I graduated high school, and something someone said to me has always stuck in my head. It’s nothing profound or brilliant, it was just simply stated to me and is true. I was talking with a Londoner who asked me if anyone had brought up the weather. I thought it was an odd question, rather than asking me about the weather he asked if anyone else had asked about the weather. But I thought about it and realized yes, almost everyone had mentioned the weather when finding out I was a tourist. Then he said ‘people love to talk about the weather, as if they were the first person to notice.

It’s simple. Its kind of catty, and it sounded ultra sophisticated with the English accent. But anytime I have an urge to make small talk about the weather I hear that in my head. And I realize, chit chat about the weather is actually kind of bland. Kind of boring.
So, it would have been a bad idea to start this blog post off with ‘Yesterday the ground was covered in snow in Dallas…. and today it’s in the 60s!’ Boring huh? True, but boring.
Well, what isn’t boring is the cioppino I made while it was snowy and cold! Not bland or boring at all!

San Francisco Style Cioppino

San Francisco Style Cioppino is a traditional Italian dish that was invented in the late 1800s. It is made of fresh seafood. It is often made with dungeness crab, but can also contain mussels and sea bass. The sauce is also made with tomatoes and fennel seeds. During the early 1900s, San Francisco was home to Italian-Americans. As a result, Cioppino has many unique variations and is still popular throughout the city.
Prep Time 15 minutes
Cook Time 15 minutes
Total Time 30 minutes
Course Main Course
Cuisine Italian
Servings 4 serves
Calories 421 kcal

Instructions
 

  • In a large sauce pot turn on low heat and add olive oil and garlic. Let the garlic infuse the oil and become aromatic, around 5 minutes.
  • Turn the heat to medium and add the diced onions, carrots and pepper. Sauté vegetables at least 5 minute until tender and the onions are translucent.
  • Add the white wine and stir using a wooden spoon. Gently scrape the bottom of the pan as you stir the liquid. Add the stock and tomatoes.
  • Cover the soup and let simmer for at least 10 minutes. The soup should reduce and become a bit thicker.
  • Add the lemon juice, salt, peppers, parsley, basil and stir. Taste the soup (let spoonful cool of course) and season to taste.
  • Slowly drop in the chunks of halibut into the simmering soup. Cover with lid and let cool for 2-3 minutes. Avoid stirring the soup to prevent breaking up the fish.
  • Remove the lid and add the shrimp, scallops and mussels. Gently stir to coat everything in the soup base and cover with the lid and steam for 4-5 minutes. Watch that your heat does not get too high and cook the fish too quickly.
  • Remove from the heat and discard any mussels that did not open. Serve with thick crusty bread.

Video

Notes

I have now had Cioppino twice in my life. Once in San Francisco, where it originated. And now in my kitchen. Both times it was flavorful, fresh, and not too fishy. The cost of this cioppino (which could easily feed four) was the same price as my portion in San Fran, so needless to say we will be eating cioppino more often!
 
Bread is very important for moping up all the great juices in this dish. Kyle and I really like our carbs bread so I served this with thin slices of garlic bread, ciabbata and sourdough. You can also change the fish assortment to whatever is fresh in your area. The only thing that this dish was missing was fresh, tender crab. But here in Dallas, we don't have fresh crab. And if it wasn't fresh, it wasn't going in this dish.
Keyword cioppino

Tips and Tricks

San Francisco-Style Cioppino - Nugget Markets Image

San Francisco Style Cioppino is a seafood stew that originated in the city of San Francisco in the late 1800s. This rich, spicy broth is a wonderful compliment to the fish and is made with a combination of sea and land ingredients. Although it is a restaurant-style dish, it requires some prep work. The ingredients are simple: mussels, shrimp, and garlic, and it can be cooked on the stovetop in less than half an hour. For the perfect San Fran cioppino, you’ll need a frying pan and a large pot.

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To prepare San Francisco Style Cioppino, you must prepare several ingredients. Those ingredients include crushed red pepper, fennel, onion, and shallots. Crushed red pepper and tomato paste are added to the sauce to add a nice flavor. In addition to fish, you will need chicken stock, wine, and wine. A good wine is recommended and plenty of napkins for messy dishes.

In San Francisco, cioppino is a seafood stew traditionally served with a heavy red sauce. The broth is made with seafood and is very flavorful. It is often served in a restaurant setting. The broth is a thick, rich sauce. When it is ready, the dish is perfect. Make sure you keep the ingredients at room temperature for at least two hours to make sure it’s cooked thoroughly.

A History of San Francisco Cioppino: SF's Most Famous Seafood Stew

The sauce for San Francisco Style Cioppino is made in two steps. First, a base of garlic and oregano is created. Then, the seafood is cooked in the pepper sauce. After that, the seafood is tossed with fennel seeds. This dish makes a large serving that can serve up to six people. A single serving will serve about 6 people. The ingredients are easy to find in any grocery store.

The original cioppino is a delicious seafood soup. It is a classic San Francisco dish that takes a little time to prepare, but the flavor is well worth it. You can recreate the restaurant-style version at home by using fresh seafood and herbs, fennel, onion, shallots, garlic, tomato paste, chicken stock, and wine. The sauce is very spicy, and the fish is tender.

The most common ingredients used in cioppino are fish, tomatoes, and wine. For a traditional San Francisco style cioppino, seafood is the main ingredient. It can be made with shrimp, scallops, or crab, but it also uses mussels, shrimp, and crab. A few extra ingredients are required. To make the soup, mix all the ingredients together. Once you’ve mixed them, add the wine and simmer for 30 to 45 minutes.

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Depending on your preference, you can add clams to the skillet before serving. You can also add chile flakes, Tabasco sauce, and herbs to your cioppino. It is best to cook it until all the seafood is cooked and the sauce is thick. You can serve the cioppino in a large casserole or directly into shallow soup plates.

San Francisco Cioppino Recipe - Peg's Home Cooking