Cioppino Old San Francisco Style Recipes

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.

SAN FRANCISCO CIOPPINO

Steps:

• Make the stew base. Heat a large stew pot or Dutch oven over medium heat with the olive oil. Add the onions and saute until tender, about 5 minutes. Add the garlic, season with salt and pepper to taste, and cook 2 minutes more. Stir in the tomato paste and cook for 1 minute. Add the wine, and use a wooden spoon to scrape up any browned bits in the pot. Simmer the wine until reduced by about half. Add the tomatoes, peppers, parsley, thyme, and bay leaf and cook for 5 minutes. Add the stock or broths; bring to a boil, then adjust the heat to maintain a gentle simmer. Cook the base, with a cover slightly ajar, for 30 minutes. (The base may be prepared ahead up to this point, refrigerated for 1 day or frozen for 1 month).
• Finish the Cioppino. Bring the base to a simmer. Add the basil and the clams, and cook covered, over high heat, for 5 minutes, or just until the clams open. Add the crab and cook for 1 minute. Add the mussels, shrimp, squid, and scallops. Cook, stirring frequently, until the mussels open, the shrimp curl, and squid and scallops are just firm, about 3 minutes. Serve in large heated bowls with plenty of crusty bread.

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.

CIOPPINO

Steps:

• In a heavy kettle (at least 5 quarts) cook garlic in oil over moderate heat, stirring, until pale golden. Add onion and cook, stirring, until softened. Add pepper flakes and bell pepper and cook, stirring, until softened. Add vinegar and boil until evaporated. Add wine, oregano, and bay leaf and simmer 5 minutes. Stir in tomato purée and tomato paste and bring to a boil.
• Add crabs and clams and simmer, covered, 15 to 20 minutes, checking often and transferring clams as they open with tongs to a bowl (discard unopened ones).
• Transfer crabs with tongs to a cutting board and remove top shells, adding any crab liquid to soup. Halve or quarter crabs (depending on size) and reserve, with any additional liquid, in a bowl.
• Add shrimp, scallops, and fish to soup and simmer, covered, 5 minutes, or until seafood is just cooked through. Stir in gently crabs, their liquid, and clams and sprinkle with parsley.

OLD-STYLE SAN FRANCISCO CRAB CIOPPINO

Steps:

• Using a TALL 8-10 quart pot, cover the bottom of the pot with a good virgin olive oil, about ¼ cup. Add the chopped onion, sage, garlic, parsley and celery and sauté slow and stirring often until tender, approximately 20 minutes. If it gets too dry, add a little more olive oil. Add tomato sauce and cayenne pepper. Reduce to lowest simmer and cook for approximately 45-60 minutes, stirring occasionally. If it gets too dry, add a little water.
• Add 10-12 cups of water and bring to a boil. Add salt and pepper to taste.
• Begin adding the seafood. Raw crab first (if not raw, then cooked is an ok substitute.) If you get raw crab, cleaned and chopped, it will be much better). Return to a low boil, then lower to low-medium heat for 15 minutes.
• Then add clams and mussels. Continue to simmer 10 minutes. Add the shrimp and scallops, simmer for 10 minutes, along with a cheese glass of white wine (6 oz.) before serving. Ok if this sits on low heat for 15-20 minutes. Add the fish 5-7 minutes before you are ready to serve. Any longer than that, take it off the heat and reheat gently before serving. Ladle into large bowls and have a few extra bowls on the table for shells.
• Have plenty of garlic and olive oil basted sourdough bread, finished with shredded parmesan cheese and your favorite California Chardonay. Offer the usual complement of crab tools, crackers, pickers, etc.
• Left-overs should be refrigerated and eaten next day or two. After eating, offer your guests a warm hand towel with fresh lemon squirted on it, with a little water, microwave on high for 30 seconds.

FISHERMAN'S WHARF CIOPPINO

Steps:

• Heat oil in a large saucepan over medium-high heat. Saute onion and bell pepper in hot oil until tender, about 5 minutes; add garlic and continue to saute until garlic is fragrant, about 1 minute. Transfer mixture to a large stockpot.
• Stir tomatoes, chicken broth, white wine, tomato paste, parsley, basil, oregano, red pepper flakes, and black pepper with the onion mixture in the stockpot; bring to a boil, cover the pot, reduce heat to medium-low, and simmer until the tomatoes are softened, about 15 minutes.
• Stir shrimp and cod chunks into the tomato mixture. Arrange clams and mussels in the liquid so they are partially submerged. Cover pot again and continue cooking until the clams and mussels open, 7 to 10 minutes.