Cioppino Fish Stew

Cioppino stew is one of those fishermen's delights that have been around in my family for over 100 years.


Back in the 1960s we only had this on Christmas Eve for the Feast of 7 Fishes.


Seafood was quite pricy for us back then and things were a struggle and on a strict budget, mom and grandma always kept that tradition.


If you have never heard of Cioppino which is an Italian fish stew, and love seafood, you're in for a treat.


The stew originated in San Francisco, California, and is a popular Italian-American dish served there.


Fish stew is also referred to as Bouillabaisse (Provençal fish stew originating from Marseille, France) usually with onions and fennel, this doesn't have that in the recipe.


The stew is brimming with fresh seafood in a tomato and wine broth that tastes like the sea and is very versatile on what you can add.


This is very rich in flavor and found in the most expensive Italian restaurants on the menu.


Cioppino is a medley of delicious seafood, and you can add whatever you love in the fish family.


This dish is easy to make and has a rich tomato base that is perfect for sopping up the sauce with warm garlic bread or over a big dish of your favorite pasta.


A traditional fish made every Friday and family favorite was Fried Haddock and I still make it.


This is no doubt a fisherman's hearty old-fashioned stew and total comfort meal.


If you're a seafood lover, don't miss printing this recipe, scroll down and let's get cooking cioppino!

Great Memories

Today, if they were still alive, mom and dad would have been so proud of me to see I was able to duplicate her recipe with then many added additions of seafood.


My thoughts are always with them making this dish, and if we could only turn back time, I would have loved to make it for them.


The dish was still magnificent growing up and a warm memory of years past.


I left some older photos for you to see from years past below.

The Good Old Days

This is an Italian favorite I grew up on, but not often.


It was always left for a special occasion or holiday, due to the expense of it and during the 1960s, times were tough.


We didn't have the luxury of what usually goes into the pot, but really any kind of fish will be great making fish stew.


This recipe will have suggestions of several kinds of fish to use, just add what you like or can afford.

Holiday

Mom saved this seafood dish for Christmas Eve, she carried on the traditional 7 fish meals and this was one of them we had and looked forward too.


Of course, as I said, we had what was affordable as I said earlier, it was more of a poor man's cioppino using freshly caught trout, clams or mussels, shrimp and always calamari.


Dad loved it over his vermicelli or angel hair pasta, and bread was always served with this.


He would rip it off a full loaf to sop up this delectable sauce, it never went to waste, not one drop.

Tips

• Use all fresh herbs when available
• For added sweetness without using sugar add 1 carrot
• Use all fresh fish when available
• Use only fresh plum tomatoes for the sauce
• White white will be lighter in color for the sauce, use red if you like a deep color sauce
• Always clean clams and mussels checking for unopened shells and discard them
• Add other vegetable ingredients to taste and adapt the stew to your preferences
• Add red pepper for a spicy hot Cioppino
• Serve with hard-crusted Italian bread, Garlic bread or Pasta of choice

Ingredients For Cioppino Fish Stew

• olive oil
• fresh garlic
• fresh plum tomatoes pureed
• imported whole plum tomatoes
• dry white or red wine
• chicken broth
• fresh parsley
• fresh basil leaves
• chicken broth or fish broth
• salt and pepper
• granulated garlic powder
• fresh oregano or use 1/4 teaspoon dried oregano
• red pepper flakes

Mussels and Clams

When using shellfish like mussels and clams, it's important to make sure they are all open when steaming them,


A tightly closed mussel or clam means they are dead and you don't know for how long.


Discard any that have broken shells or won't open, is my rule of thumb.

Seafood Options:

• shrimp
• scallops,
• lobster meat
• crab meat from the legs
• calamari tubes with tentacles
• stone crab
• clams, mussels, or oysters
• haddock or other white fish

Fresh Fish

Fish that is stale smells ‘fishy’, fresh seafood has little aroma except for a slight fresh ‘sea’ smell.


Signs that the seafood is fresh include bright shiny skin or shell, and in the case of fillets and steaks, bright lustrous flesh that doesn’t look dried out or discolored.


If there’s a bloodline, it should be bright red rather than dark or browning.


Some people say bright eyes are a good indicator, but eyes can go cloudy if they come into contact with ice, so cloudy eyes alone do not indicate that the fish is stale.


At the end of all probabilities, your nose knows.


If it smells bad, it gets tossed.

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Other Favorite Seafood Recipes

Drunken Smoked Salmon


Barbecued Salmon


Lemon Dill Salmon

Fish Stew

Whatever type of stew you like, this can be adapted.


Make it any style you like, add potatoes, onions, carrots, and beans, the fish will still taste great.


This is the way our family loved this dish and I always make it the same way.


Cioppino, Italian style, mom's version will always be close to my heart, try her version, it's magnificent!

Cioppinohttps://dashboard.mediavine.com/videos/fcrbbcc0rmkidqyp3bzu

Cioppino

Yield: 10

Author: Claudia Lamascolo

prep time: 35 Mcook time: 15 Mtotal time: 50 M

This is a hearty fisherman's stew that has a medley of shellfish in a tomato wine sauce. A hearty bowl of delicious Cioppino that can be served in a bowl with hard crusty bread or over pasta.

ingredients:

• 4 tablespoons olive oil
• 3 cloves garlic, minced or more to taste
• 1 pound of fresh plum tomatoes pureed with a little pulp left
• 1 -28 ounce can of imported plum tomatoes or 12 fresh peeled plum tomatoes left whole
• 1 1/4 cups dry white or red wine
• 1/4 cup chicken broth or more if needed
• 3 tablespoons fresh parsley
• 4 fresh basil leaves (Italian of course)
• 1 cup chicken broth or fish broth from clams see notes
• salt and pepper to taste
• 1/4 teaspoon granulated garlic powder
• 2 sprigs of fresh oregano or use 1/4 teaspoon dried oregano
• red pepper flakes for adding heat Diavolo style
• 1 lb. fresh haddock or other white fish fillets, cut in 1-inch pieces
• 30 to 40 medium-sized cleaned shrimp or use extra large
• 2 lbs of fresh or frozen assorted seafood (or just the ones you prefer) scallops, lobster meat, crab meat from the legs, or calamari tubes with tentacles ( if using lobster crab or stone crab, I remove the meat, but you can leave it in the shell)
• 12 or more littleneck clams, mussels, or oysters or all three (Steam mollusks (clams, mussels, oysters) or use 1 (7 1/2 oz.) can minced clams
• Note for clams and mussels: in a small amount of water (about a cup) add the shellfish until they just open. Set aside.
• Strain and reserve the cooking broth in the place of chicken broth if you don't have the chicken broth.
• Serving Suggestions:
• Pasta of choice cooked to package instructions in salted water
• Garlic bread or Hard crusted Italian bread

instructions:

How to cook Cioppino

1. In an 8 quart saucepan, saute the garlic in oil for 1 minute, do not brown.
2. Add all the tomatoes, wine, parsley, broth, granulated garlic, oregano, basil, and salt, pepper and hot pepper to taste.
3. Simmer on low, covered for around 10 to 12 minutes.
4. Add all preferred selected fish, shellfish, calamari, shrimps, scallops ( lobster or crab) and undrained canned clams.
5. Bring just to boiling.
6. Reduce heat, to low again and simmer for 7 to 12 minutes or until fish, shrimp will turn pink and most seafood cooks quickly.
7. Reheat the cooked clams or mussels in the pot to warm up, we usually set this on top of the pasta for presentation, I am not fond of finding slivers of shell in my food, so I do not cook them in the sauce.
8. The original way is to add them to the sauce and you certainly can do that.
9. Health Tip on Fresh Clams and Mussels: scrub clam and soak in cold water for 15 minutes to make sure they are clean before cooking and no sand is in them.
10. I always steam mussels and clams first to make sure they are fresh. If all of them don't open they need to be thrown away, I always use this method.
11. If they are open when you purchase them to throw them away, they must be closed fresh are always closed and open during the steaming process.
12. Serving, place the fish stew in a deep soup bowl and eat this with hard-crusted bread or add the pasta to the bottom of the plate and pour the stew over the pasta, add the opened mussels of clams on top.

Calories
420

Fat (grams)
16

Carbs (grams)
11

Fiber (grams)
2

Sugar (grams)
3

Sodium (milligrams)
1728

Cholesterol (grams)
219

https://www.whatscookinitalianstylecuisine.com/2009/07/red-or-white-clam-sauce-over-linguini.html

fishermans stew, fish stew, cioppino, seafood stew, seafood Italian style, tomato fish stew

seafood, fish recipes, stew, shellfish recipes, comfort food

Italian American

Created using The Recipes Generator

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Disclosure: This recipe was originally shared in 2009. It was edited and re-published in 2019.