Spicy Cioppino My Way

 Cioppino os a classic Italian-American fisherman's stew that is hearty, filling and so flavorful. Tomato and wine based broth, tons of different seafood and shellfish, don't forget the crusty bread for dipping.

I am so excited to share with you all my Spicy Cioppino recipe. It is one of my favorite seafood dishes, I will often make it for Christmas eve for my version of Italy's feast of the seven fishes with all 7 different fish and seafood in one bowl.

What is Ciopinno?

Cioppino (Pronounced Chuh-pea-no) is said to be "developed in the late 1800s by Italian fishermen who immigrated to San Francisco, many from Genoa, Italy.  It was made on the boats while out at sea and later became a staple as Italian restaurants proliferated in San Francisco. The name comes from ciuppin, a word in the Ligurian dialect of the port city of Genoa, meaning "to chop" or "chopped" which described the process of making the stew by chopping up various leftovers of the day's catch.

Ciuppin is also a classic soup of Genoa, similar in flavor to cioppino, with less tomato, and the seafood cooked to the point that it falls apart". (Wikipedia).  Cioppino has always been a family favorite dish, my mom and I both being huge fans of it. We would always order it from Enterprise Fish Co., a favorite restaurant in Santa Barbara, CA., where I grew up, and I have been making it yearly for Christmas eve dinner.

Cioppino ingredients:

Yes this list is long. Yes it is all necessary to get the rich, deep flavors of this delicious and filling seafood stew:

Cioppino is made with either white wine or red. Some say just white; however I have always been a fan of using both in my recipe.

• Aromatics - garlic, sweet onion, fennel, leeks
• Herbs and spices - basil, oregano, paprika, red chile flakes, bay leaves ( of course salt and pepper)
• Wines - red and white
• Balsamic vinegar
• Tomatoes - tomato paste and crushed San Marzano tomatoes
• Clam juice or seafood stock
• Fish and shellfish - manilla clams, mussels, prawns, sea scallops, white fish such as cod, halibut, mahi-mahi, crab - legs and claws or just claws,
• Other seafood options - calamari, dungeness crab, snow crab, little neck clams or cockles, bay scallops,
• Italian flat leaf parsley
• Hot sauce - tobasco, cholula, habanero hot sauce

How do you make Cioppino?

• I start with roasting the garlic with oil wrapped in foil until soft.

Spicy Cioppino My Way

Shanna

Spicy Cioppino My way A spicy and really flavorful version of the Italian immigrant seafood stew. Perfect for any time of the year.

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Prep Time 30 minutes mins

Cook Time 1 hour hr 30 minutes mins

Total Time 2 hours hrs

Servings 6

Ingredients

  

• 1 bulb of garlic
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 2 tablespoon butter
• 2 tablespoon olive oil
• ½ fennel bulb, diced
• 2 medium leeks, white and light green part only, rinsed and diced
• 1 small white onion, diced
• 1 ½ teaspoon dried Basil*
• 1 ½ teaspoon dried Oregano*
• 1 teaspoon smoked Paprika*
• ½-1 teaspoon red chile flakes*
• 1 tablespoon high quality balsamic vinegar (Fini from World Market
• 355 ml dry Italian White wine, (1 ½ cups )(Pino Blanco, Pinot Grigio Vermentino or Pino Gris)
• 355 ml Italian Red wine, (1 ½ cups) (sangiovese)
• 3 ounces tomato paste
• 592 ml clam juice (or seafood stock), (2 ½ cups)
• 1 28 ounce can San Marzano tomatoes
• 2 Bay leaves*
• ½ teaspoon sea salt, or to taste
• ½ teaspoon ground black pepper, or to taste
• Seafood:
• 1 lb Manilla Clams, scrubbed well
• 1 lb Mussels, debearded and scrubbed well
• 1 lb Prawns, tails on and deveined
• 1 lb Cod or other firm white fish, cut into chunks
• 4-6 rock crab claws, Pre-cooked, optional
• Other seafood options: Scallops, Calamari, Dungeness crab, snow crab, little neck clams or cockles
• ½ c Italian flat leaf parsley, chopped
• Hot sauce such as Tobasco or a habanero hot sauce

Instructions

 

• Slice the top off the garlic bulb exposing the cloves and place in a piece of foil. Drizzle with 1 tablespoon olive oil and roast in a 350 degree oven for about 35-40 min or until very soft. Remove from the oven until cool enough to handle and remove all the cloves. Mash into a paste.
• In a large stockpot or Dutch oven heat the butter and olive oil over medium-low heat. Add the fennel, onion and leeks and sauté until starting to caramelize, stirring often, about 8 minutes. Add in the mashed roasted garlic and stir another 30 seconds. Rub the oregano and basil between your hands to release their oils and add them to the pan with the smoked paprika, red chile flakes and balsamic vinegar. Stir again another 30 seconds. Add in the paste and 1 cup of each the white wine and red wine. Stir well and bring to a simmer for about 5 min to reduce the wines slightly. Pour in the clam juice, the San Marzano tomatoes with their juice, the remaining wine and bay leaves. Bring to a boil and then lower heat and simmer covered for 30 minutes. Taste the cioppino and season with salt and pepper. Using and immersion blender, blend the soup about 30 seconds only partially pureeing it. Add the remaining ½ c of each wine.
• Raise the heat to medium and add the clams and mussels, then the prawns, fish and crab claws (if using). Let cook about 5 minutes until all the clams and mussels have opened, the prawns are opaque and the fish has cooked.
• Ladle into bowls and sprinkle with the parsley. Add additional hot sauce if desired for more spice! Serve hot with more red and white wine to drink and of course good crusty Italian bread for dipping.

Notes

The broth can be made ahead of time and either refrigerated or frozen until ready to finish the dish. Just thaw and heat to a simmer before adding the seafood.
Smoked paprika, extra red pepper flakes and balsamic vinegar are my "secret ingredients" to making this cioppino extra good.
If you are intimidated by the thought of prepping the seafood you can always ask anyone at your local seafood store or seafood counter at your grocery store to prep it for you, they are always happy to help.

*Spices from World Market found HERE