Classic Cioppino
Classic Cioppino recipe, the iconic San Franciscan-style seafood stew made with tomatoes, wine, spices and herbs.
I have been wanting to make Cioppino for some time now, that iconic San Francisco-style seafood stew cooked with tomatoes, wine, spices and herbs. I love seafood stews like Cioppino and bouillabaisse but I've never attempted to make either at home. After being inspired to try making a classic Cioppino by a couple other food bloggers, I took the plunge and did it. So, so glad I did!
There are several dishes I've not tried to make at home for a few reasons. They seem too complicated or time consuming for a home cook so, instead, I order them at a favorite restaurant. And with a family of five to feed, some things like Cioppino are not going to go over big. Lastly, this is a very expensive dish to make, seafood ain't cheap! But the girls are gone, I knew Meathead would love this and I went ahead and gave it a go.
I would definitely say Cioppino at home is a special occasion, either for Sunday dinner or for entertaining. My special occasions yesterday were National Lobster Day, it was Sunday, and I had the time and desire to tackle this dish for the first time. I knew I'd have plenty left over for a couple more meals.
Like I do whenever I'm trying something new, I research a bit, check my messy recipe drawer and any recipes I may have bookmarked. I was inspired by and adapted this version of Cioppino from Aly Romero of Aly Romero, and Kris Longwell of How to Feed a Loon, both food bloggers I admire.
In terms of seafood, I used lobster, shrimp, mussels, clams, scallops and cod. Crab legs are traditional but not always available so I used lobster. It is also traditional to use white fish fillets, like halibut or cod. I used cod because I splurged on lobster and cod is less expensive than halibut, which is not always available anyway. Shrimp, mussels and clams are usually in Cioppino and scallops sometimes, too. This is a lot of seafood.
I went ahead and made my seafood stock using the shells from the shrimp and lobster, like Aly does. But you could certainly use bottled clam juice instead, like Kris does, and save yourself some time and work. It really isn't that difficult, just have everything prepped and ready to go, like I always say, mise en place makes a difference when cooking.
Lastly, this Cioppino needs a classic crusty sourdough for sopping up the most delicious broth ever. I made a garlic sourdough bread and it was perfect. A food blogger friend and I shared a laugh yesterday about how great it is that San Francisco is known for this beautiful seafood stew and our respective areas are known for pasties and Provel cheese! But I bet our BBQ here in Missouri is way better than anywhere in California, ha!
So, that's it folks. My version of classic San Francisco-style cioppino and, if I do say so myself, it was as good as any restaurant's. Meathead could not stop raving about it after each and every bite. Thanks Aly and Kris for giving me the courage to try this iconic seafood stew at home ~ I will definitely be making it again. Cheers, Kelly🍴🐦
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Classic Cioppino
Ingredients
- 4 lobster tails
- 1 pound extra large shrimp ~ I used black tiger shrimp
- 2 carrots, chopped
- 2 celery ribs, chopped
- ½ yellow onion, diced
- 2 bay leaves
- Several sprigs parsley
- ½ teaspoon black peppercorns
- Kosher salt
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 2 tablespoons butter (I use Kerrygold salted butter, most recipes call for unsalted butter)
- 2 medium yellow onions, chopped
- 4 cloves garlic, finely chopped
- ½ red bell pepper, seeded, chopped
- ½ cup chopped celery
- ¼ cup chopped parsley (I always use flat-leaf parsley, but use what you have)
- 2 bay leaves
- 1 tablespoon dried basil
- ½ teaspoon dried oregano
- ½ dried thyme
- ½ teaspoon crushed red pepper
- ½ teaspoon kosher salt
- 1 tablespoon tomato paste
- 1 cup dry white wine
- 4 cups home made seafood stock, directions below (or two 8-ounce bottles clam juice)
- 1 28-ounce can whole San Marzano tomatoes, crushed by hand
- 12 small little neck clams, scrubbed
- 12 mussels, scrubbed and de-bearded
- 6 scallops
- 1 pound firm white fish fillets (halibut, cod or haddock are good choices)
- Olive oil
Instructions
- Prepare seafood stock. You'll need the shells from the lobster and shrimp for this, reserving the shrimp and lobster meat for later. Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil and prepare an ice bath. Add lobster tails to boiling salted water and cook for 4 minutes. Remove lobster with tongs to ice bath, keep water in the pot simmering on stove. On cutting board, snip down lobster backs with kitchen shears and devein as you would shrimp. Remove shells to a bowl, do not discard. Cut lobster meat into large chunks and refrigerate. Peel and devein shrimp, saving shells in bowl with lobster shells. Refrigerate shrimp.
- To the boiling lobster water add lobster shells and shrimp shells, chopped carrots, chopped celery, ½ cup diced onion, 2 bay leaves, parsley sprigs and peppercorns. Cover and simmer for 2 - 3 hours, stirring occasionally until a nice, rich stock has developed. Strain stock and reserve, you want at least 4 cups.
- In a large Dutch oven, heat 2 tablespoons olive oil and 2 tablespoons butter over medium heat. Add the 2 chopped onions, garlic, red pepper, celery and chopped parsley. Sprinkle with salt and sauté until softened, about 5 or 6 minutes.
- Add the bay leaves, basil, oregano, thyme, crushed red pepper, salt and tomato paste. Stir to combine well and fragrant. Add the wine and boil and stir for about 4 - 5 minutes until reduced by half.
- Add 4 cups of the reserved seafood stock and the hand-crushed tomatoes and their juices to the pot. Stir and bring to a boil and then simmer for 30 minutes to one hour to develop the broth. (If you didn't make the seafood stock, this is where you could add 2 bottles of clam juice instead.) This stock/broth can be made ahead of time and refrigerated for up to 2 days.
- Add the clams, discarding any that are not open. Cover and cook at a steady simmer for 5 minutes.
- Meanwhile, heat a large skillet over medium heat and drizzle with olive oil. Dry cod and scallops and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Add the cod and scallops to the pan and sear cod for 5 minutes undisturbed. Carefully flip cod and scallops and add a few ladles of broth mixture to the pan to finish cooking.
- Back to the pot with the clams, carefully stir in the mussels, lobster meat and shrimp. Cover and simmer for about 5 - 7 minutes until just cooked through and clams and mussels have opened (discard any unopened clams or mussels). Remove bay leaves and taste for salt.
- In shallow bowls, place a portion of cod and scallops and ladle the seafood stew over the top. Sprinkle with some chopped parsley and serve immediately with warm crusty sourdough bread. Enjoy!
Recipe Notes
Nutrition
*Inspired by, and adapted from, Aly Romero and How to Feed a Loon.
Which dry white did you use or would you recommend?
I usually use an Italian Pinot Grigio.
Love, love, love this dish and making the stock is way better than the bottled clam juice. My husband was very impressed
A huge hit in my house on New Years Day!!! I love to cook for people...I’ve done it for years!!! This is the first review I’ve ever done for a recipe but felt like I had to given my brother-in-law said it was the best thing he’s ever had!! That is a huge compliment! I did make the stock from scratch and followed the recipe without tweaking! Thank you!!!
So happy to hear this, thanks so much for the compliment.
In addition, we used lobster, shrimp, scallops (frozen 1 lb., seared nicely in butter and olive oil in cast iron) and two last minute crabs shells did not make it in time for stock. Two of us made fairly short work is shelling everything. I got a dozen mussels to sacrifice to the stock. A pound and a half each clams and mussels. Next time I will do just clams, mussels have to be debearded.
I also used amazing tomatoes. Here in Ca, I get "dry farmed" (Sea Level Farms)tomatoes in late july/August and can them. They are the BEST tomatoes ever. Great ingredients lead to amazing results!
I agree, you get what you put in. This is so flexible on the seafood, use what looks good and you can find. I think the homemade stock makes such a difference, and so easy!!And quality tomatoes, too.
Hello! We made this for Christmas this year, for 7. Rave reviews all around. We roughly doubled everything. I would triple or more on the stock next time. Still, Delicious. We did the broth the night before and it is well worth it. No bottle of clam juice could compare. I added way more garlic. Taste and adjust as you go. So So Good! Thank you
Yay ? That stock is amazing and so easy. Can never have enough garlic. I'm so happy to hear it was a hit for Christmas this year.
can you freeze the broth before adding the seafood?
I don't see why not, that should be fine.
Plan on making your recipe this week. I’m not going to use the cod but I will use the Scallops. Can I just add the scallops to the broth/sauce with the shrimp or should I brown them in a frying pan?
I would sauté the scallops first.
Is there anyway u can make the stock 2-3 days a ahead of time?
I think so, but I wouldn't keep it for more than two days, refrigerated.
Maybe can make ahead and freeze?
I made this yesterday - I don't personally eat seafood but enjoying cooking for others who love it. They said this was absolutely fantastic and one of the best things they'd had! One note....the 4 minutes prep time is really once all the real 'prep' work is done (shelling the lobster and shrimp, cleaning the mussels and clams and making the broth) right? That stuff took hours.
Thank you, love hearing how it turned out so well. And the timing is wrong in the recipe, it's supposed to be hours, not minutes!! I'm so sorry, it's been corrected.
Absolutely amazing! Second time I made this, first with clams, mussels, scallops and shrimp. Second time with halibut, shrimp and lobster claws. You can use anything you like. Thanks for a great recipe.
Thank you so much, so glad you like this recipe. And, yes, love using any fish and seafood that's available and looks good.
Hi - I made this tonight for special dinner!! Was delish! I used slightly different seafood but worked a treat! Thanks for sharing!!!
I'm so glad you liked it, it is such a treat ~ I'm making for New Year's Eve. It works so well with whatever seafood you choose, thanks for letting me know you made this cioppino.
Kelly - looks divine! I've never tried to make the stock myself or use lobster - might have to check that out. We like seabass, cod, or salmon. Agree that really good tomatoes like you've used are key. I tend to be heavy handed with the crushed red pepper and once ended up adding chopped potato to try to counteract the spice. It ended up more like chowder, but was still tasty ?
Thanks, Lisa. First time I made seafood stock ~ I bought 2 bottles of clam juice in case I messed up! I think the homemade is so worth it, very easy with the lobster and shrimp shells, and I would think just shrimp shells would have worked, too. I tend to overdue it with the crushed red pepper, too, have to just remind myself a little goes a long way and my family doesn't like things as spicy as me.
Incredible photos! But even better to eat!
Looking forward to making this dish not only for the flavors but the beauty of the dish. Really nice photographs, Hungry Bluebird.
Thanks so much and let me know if you try it.
Nice job, looks beautiful...glad you enjoyed!
Thank you, Aly! It was incredible!
Omg!!!! Soooo yummy! I used Cabernet wine! Delish grabbed the wrong one.
Fantastic recipe! Will use many times over! Ty so much