Cioppino The San Francisco Treat

I left My Heart And Stomach In San Francisco

If you’ve ever spent time in San Francisco you know this iconic dish down by the wharf and the docs of the Embarcadero. I spent four years of my early twenties in the bay area and have very fond memories of Sunday afternoons with friends and cioppino. My older brother was earning an English degree at California university across the bay bridge in Berkeley.

At that time I was working the line in a French restaurant in the theater district of downtown Berkeley, the restaurant had a fifty-acre farm in Sebastopol. All of our produce was grown on the farm and deliveries would arrive 2-3 times a week. It was an amazing experience for me to work with such a great variety of products and quality ingredients as a young chef fresh out of culinary school.

My days off were typically spent venturing over to SF as much as possible to explore the city and take in all the culture and cuisine. I had moved from Boulder Colorado to one of the countries food meccas! The produce, the bread, and artisans had a huge impact on the way I viewed food and my relationship was cemented, I was hooked.

A Brief History of Cioppino

The humble roots of this famed dish begin with the blue-collar Italian fisherman of the late 1800s. There were huge numbers of Italian immigrants in the north beach at the time. The dish was born out of leftover seafood that couldn’t be sold at the market or to purveyors, It was in these modest homes that cioppino was created and eaten with dads scrap from the days catch. It wasn’t until 1925 that a man named Nunzio Alioto thought to bring the dish down to the wharf and sell the steaming hot stew to his compatriots getting off the boats from a hard days work.

His business was thriving and in 1932 he opened a restaurant and seafood bar on the corner of Jefferson and Taylor. Mr. Alioto passed away unexpectedly and his wife Rose and three children took over the business, she was the first and only women to work on the wharf during that time which was very much a mans world. Rose and her children helped shape the culinary history of this famous San Francisco staple and cement its place in history. Aliotos is still open to this day on Wharf #8 and it is a tradition if you're in the area to get a bowl of this San Francisco treat!

Today you see the remnants of the impact and influence the Italian community had in the area. Many Italian restaurants line Columbus ave in north beach and still have a thriving community. Another notable restaurant in north beach is Sotto Mare their version of cioppino is arguably one of the best in the city they also serve classic Italian fare. Be sure to check them out next time you’re in SF.

My Cioppino Recipe

1 # Pacific Cod or Whitefish
1.5 # Cherry or manilla clams (purge in cold salted water for 15 minutes)
.5 # Black mussels
.5 # Shrimp peeled and deveined
.5 # Crab legs or bay scallops
2 Med. onions ( med dice )
2 Fennel bulbs ( med dice )
3 Large cans of whole tomatoes ( blend 2 cans until smooth and rough chop the other)
1 Btl of dry white wine
1 Qt of fish stock (see our recipe here) or sometimes you can find in your freezer section Stock Options
8 oz clam juice
1 Tbl fennel seed
1 Tbl chile flakes
6 Basil stems
2 Lemons zest and juice
2 Tbl fresh parsley
2 Tbl torn basil
Tomato confit ( optional ) see recipe here

Making The Seafood Stew

With the list of ingredients, I know what you’re thinking…this is intimidating. It’s fairly simple I’ll help you break down the elements and you’ll be slurping stew in no time. It’s important to have everything prepared and ready to go into the pot so you’re not multi-tasking at crunch time. Be sure to taste the stew throughout this process and add salt and pepper as you go. As a chef you are developing a depth of flavor and layering the stew, salt is a key element to that process. This recipe is all about the preparation and timing, let’s get started:

Heat your heavy duty pot on medium heat for 3-4 minutes (I like the le Creuset pots)
Add a 1/4 cup of olive oil and stir in your onions and fennel (season with a tablespoon of salt this draws out the moisture and will sweat the veg better) cook on medium heat until translucent.
Add the garlic and sweat for another 3-4 minutes (if the pot looks a little dry add a bit more olive oil)
Deglaze the pot with white wine and add fennel seed and basil stems.
Reduce the wine by 3/4 until there isn’t much left in the pot. You are condensing all of that flavor as well as burning off the alcohol flavor.
Add your stock and clam juice bring to a simmer, cook on low for 15 minutes.
The blended and chopped tomatoes go in next, bring up to a simmer and let reduce on med-low heat for 30 minutes stirring occasionally to keep from sticking to the bottom of the pot.
The final steps are adding you're all of the seafood, lemon juice, and zest and covering the pot for 5-6 minutes on a simmer. The clams and mussels should all open up and the fish and shrimp should be cooked through. Add your herbs and serve immediately, I like lots of grilled sourdough bread rubbed with garlic to dip.
The tomato confit is optional, but I love the element it adds to the dish, if you do it right they are fully intact and burst with flavor, I garnish the cioppino with fennel fronds and lemon zest.