Best Grandfathers Cioppino Recipes

CIOPPINO

Steps:

• Heat 1/4 cup olive oil in a large (12-inch) heavy pot or Dutch oven, such as Le Creuset, over medium heat. Add the fennel and onion and saute for 10 minutes, until tender. Stir in the garlic, fennel seeds, and red pepper flakes and cook for 2 minutes, until fragrant. Add the tomatoes, stock, wine, 1 tablespoon salt, and 1 teaspoon black pepper. Bring to a boil, lower the heat, and simmer uncovered for 30 minutes. The stock will be highly seasoned.
• Add the seafood in the following order: first the cod, then the shrimp, scallops, and finally the mussels. Do not stir! Bring to a simmer, lower the heat, cover, and cook for 8 to 10 minutes, until all the seafood is cooked and the mussels are open. Stir in the Pernod, being careful not to break up the fish; cover and set aside for 3 minutes for the flavors to blend. Discard any mussels that have not opened. Ladle into large shallow bowls, sprinkle with parsley, and serve hot with Garlic Toasts.
• Warm the oil in a medium pot set over medium heat. Add the shrimp shells, onions, carrots, and celery and cook for 15 minutes, until lightly browned. Add the garlic and cook for one more minute. Add 1 1/2 quarts water, the wine, tomato paste, thyme, 1 tablespoon salt, and 1 1/2 teaspoons pepper. Bring to a boil, lower the heat, and simmer for one hour. Strain through a sieve, pressing on the solids. You should have approximately 1 quart of stock. If not, add enough water or white wine to make 1 quart.
• Cool completely, transfer to containers, and refrigerate for up to 3 days or freeze for up to 1 month.
• Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.
• Slice the baguette diagonally in 1/4-inch-thick slices. Depending on the size of the baguette, you should get 20 to 25 slices.
• Lay the slices in one layer on a sheet pan, brush each with olive oil, and sprinkle generously with salt and pepper. Bake for 15 to 20 minutes, until browned and crisp. As soon as they're cool enough to handle, rub the top of the toasts with a cut side of the garlic. Serve at room temperature.

CIOPPINO (SAN FRANCISCO SEAFOOD STEW)

Steps:

• For the Seafood Stock: In a large, 8- or 12-quart heavy-bottomed pot, heat olive oil over medium-high heat until shimmering. Add onion, fennel, celery, and garlic, and cook, stirring, until softened and beginning to brown, about 7 minutes. Stir in tomato paste and cook for 1 minute.
• Add crabs, if using, and shrimp shells, and cook, stirring and scraping, until shells are cooked through and turning red, about 4 minutes.
• Add white wine, bring to a boil, then cook until raw alcohol smell is gone, about 4 minutes. Add fish heads and bones along with the clam juice. Cover with water (at least 2 quarts). Add parsley, bay leaves, and black peppercorns. Bring to a boil, reduce heat to a simmer, and cook for 1 hour. Strain seafood stock and reserve until ready to make cioppino. You should have about 2 quarts (1.9L); add enough water to bring total volume of the stock up to 2 1/2 quarts (2.4L), then set aside.
• Meanwhile, for the Roasted Red Pepper Salsa: Working directly over the flame of a gas burner or under a broiler, cook the red bell peppers, turning occasionally, until deeply charred all over, about 10 minutes. Transfer to a heatproof bowl, cover with plastic, and let stand 5 minutes.
• Using paper towels, rub charred skin off peppers. Stem and seed peppers, then roughly chop flesh and add to a blender jar or tall, narrow vessel compatible with an immersion blender.
• Add olive oil, lemon juice, chile paste and minced fresh herbs and blend until fairly smooth. Season red pepper salsa with salt, then set aside or refrigerate until ready to use.
• For the Cioppino: In a large 8- or 12-quart, heavy bottomed pot, heat olive oil over medium heat until shimmering. Add onion, fennel, garlic, red pepper flakes, and chile paste (if using). Season with salt, and cook, stirring often, until very soft but not browned, about 15 minutes; lower heat if necessary to prevent browning.
• Add crushed tomatoes and their juices along with the 2 1/2 quarts (2.4L) seafood stock. Bring to a simmer, then add mussels and cook just until they pop open, about 4 minutes. Using tongs and a spider or slotted spoon, lift out and transfer mussels to a bowl. Set aside to cool slightly.
• Add squid and cook at a gentle simmer for 25 minutes. While the squid cooks, shell all but 12 of the mussels, then transfer to a warmed platter; cover with foil and, optionally, a small amount of hot broth to keep warm.
• Add clams and cook until they just begin to pop open, about 6 minutes. Using tongs and a spider or slotted spoon, lift out clams and add to platter with mussels.
• Season halibut with salt, then place in a large strainer and lower into the simmering broth until fully submerged, then cook until halibut is just cooked through, about 3 minutes. Transfer halibut to platter with the clams to keep warm.
• Season shrimp with salt, then place in the same strainer and lower into the simmering broth, then cook until just pink, about 1 minute. Transfer shrimp to the platter and keep warm.
• In warmed serving bowls, arrange the mussels (both shell-on and off), clams, halibut, and shrimp. If using crabmeat, add to the strainer and lower into the simmering broth until just warmed through, about 30 seconds, then remove and arrange on the plate. If any of the seafood has cooled too much, you can place it in the strainer and dip it back into the simmering broth before plating. Using a ladle, spoon the broth and squid into each bowl. Garnish with toasted sourdough and serve, passing the red pepper condiment on the side.

CIOPPINO

Steps:

• Heat the oil in a very large pot over medium heat. Add the fennel, onion, shallots, and salt and saute until the onion is translucent, about 10 minutes. Add the garlic and 3/4 teaspoon of red pepper flakes, and saute 2 minutes. Stir in the tomato paste. Add tomatoes with their juices, wine, fish stock and bay leaf. Cover and bring to a simmer. Reduce the heat to medium-low. Cover and simmer until the flavors blend, about 30 minutes.
• Add the clams and mussels to the cooking liquid. Cover and cook until the clams and mussels begin to open, about 5 minutes. Add the shrimp and fish. Simmer gently until the fish and shrimp are just cooked through, and the clams are completely open, stirring gently, about 5 minutes longer (discard any clams and mussels that do not open). Season the soup, to taste, with more salt and red pepper flakes.
• Ladle the soup into bowls and serve.

SAN FRANCISCO CIOPPINO

Steps:

• Heat two tablespoons of olive oil in a deep skillet or ductch oven over medium heat.
• Add the fennel, onion, shallots, and salt. Saute until the onion becomes translucent about 5-7 minutes.
• Add the garlic and crushed red pepper and continue to saute for 2 minutes.
• Add the tomato paste, plum tomatoes and all juices, wine, chicken stock, and bay leaf.
• Bring the sauce to a light boil, then reduce the heat to simmer and allow to cook for one hour, stirring occasionally
• While the sauce is simmering using another saute pan, add 2 tablespoons olive oil and sear the shrimp, scallops (and fish pieces if used) on both sides, making sure not to fully cook them (about half way is fine)
• Remove the seafood from the pan and place it on a plate until needed. If you did use the fish pieces you can add them to the sauce now. *do not add the shrimp or scallops at this time
• In the same pan add a little more oil, the clams and mussels. Cover and steam them until they open. *If any of the mussels or clams are open before cooking discard them, they're dead and aren't safe for consumption.
• At about the 45-minute mark of simmering the sauce, add in the crabs, mussels and clams with all the pan juices. Continue to simmer.
• If you are serving your Choppino over pasta you may begin getting the water ready at this time.
• With five minutes of cooking time remaining, add in the shrimp and scallops.
• Taste the sauce and re-season as needed.
• If you cooked pasta serve over pasta. If not, enjoy this delicious stew with a loaf of crusty bread.

GRANDFATHER'S CIOPPINO

Steps:

• Heat oil in heavy large pot over medium-high heat. Add onions, celery, parsley and garlic; sauté until tender, about 8 minutes. Add crushed tomatoes and diced tomatoes with their juices; simmer 10 minutes. Add red wine, red wine vinegar, canned clams with juices, rosemary, thyme, oregano, bay leaf, crushed red pepper, allspice and cinnamon. Simmer 30 minutes.
• Add water, white wine and cherrystone clams to stew. Simmer until clams open, about 10 minutes (discard any clams that do not open). Add crabmeat, sea bass and shrimp and simmer until fish and shrimp are cooked through, about 5 minutes. Ladle into large bowls and serve.

CHEF JOHN'S CIOPPINO

Steps:

• Combine butter and olive oil in a large Dutch oven over medium-low heat.
• Stir in onion and celery with a pinch of salt; cook until onion is soft and golden, 6 to 7 minutes. Stir in garlic and cook for 1 minute.
• Stir wine into onion mixture; increase heat to high and bring to a simmer.
• Stir in tomato puree, water, bay leaf, oregano, red pepper flakes, and Worcestershire sauce. Reduce heat to low and simmer 35 minutes.
• Increase heat to high and bring mixture to a boil. Stir in lemon and cod, return to simmer, about 2 minutes.
• Stir in crab, shrimp, and mussels. Cover and simmer until all mussels are cooked and open, about 5 minutes.
• Stir in fresh parsley and basil; season with salt and pepper to taste.