photo credit: Maggie Hoffman
Cioppino with Italian rustic bread is a meal fit for a king! I remember the first time I had it. We were literally sitting in the Pacific Ocean off of San Luis Obispo, California. We had to drive our car out onto the pier and park. The meal was one of the best I’ve ever had – especially with their homemade crusty San Francisco sourdough bread.
Gourmet Italian Cioppino is a fish soup made with spices, tomatoes and red wine. It is believed that the dish was created in San Francisco in the 1930′s – most likely by Northern Italian immigrants from Genoa. Since crab is so prevalent in that area, it is usually found in traditional Italian cioppino recipes. Back in Genoa, they would use whatever fish was nice and fresh that day. The name comes from a Genovese word for fish stew – ciuppin.
If you want to entertain with Italian Cioppino, saute a choped onion with 3 cloves of minced garlic in 1/4 cup of olive oil. Stir in 28 ounces of canned tomatoes, 15 ounces of tomato sauce, a cup of dry red wine, a cup of water. 2 tablespoons of red wine vinegar, 2 bay leaves and 2 teaspoons of Italian herbs. Bring to a boil and reduce to simmer for 40 minutes.
While this is going on, clean your fish. You’ll want a dozen clams, a dozen mussels, 1 1/2 pounds of firm white fish cut into chunks, a pound of shrimp and a pound of crab – cut in pieces.
Place all of the fish in a large kettle with the clams and mussels on top. Pour the sauce over everything. Cover tightly and cook over low heat for 20 minutes. You are not ready to please your guests with Italian Cioppino! Don’t forget the crusty sourdough bread!
Watch the head chef from Red Lobster make a Lobster Cioppino here! Yum! Notice Chef LaDuke refers to this as a Portuguese dish. I’m not sure where he got that idea, as none of the research supports that – but it sure looks delicious, doesn’t it?
Mangia Bene!
