Cioppino is a seafood stew invented in the 1800’s by the Italian fishing community that worked the San Francisco bay and nearby Pacific waters. They would pick from whateve was least marketable from their haul and turn it into this
This is a very "hands on" presentation. Advise your guests to dress accordingly, and have lots of napkins handy.
Many types of seafood work, but in general shellfish is prominent in traditional cioppino. Dungeness crab is the most traditional key ingredient. Of course nothing is better than wild caught in your own boat, but most of us in flyover country are stuck visiting the seafood section of our grocery. The good news is that frozen bags of mixed shellfish can be pretty good. An example is Costco frozen "Premium Seafood Medley" which comes in reasonably priced 2.5lb bags.
Permission to use this recipe is withdrawn for anyone who omits the Dungeness crab. There are those who claim it is an optional ingredient in cioppino. We refer to those people as "wrong". If you're fond of one particular shellfish (like crab or shrimp) feel free to add more "to taste".
Many types of seafood work, but in general shellfish is prominent in traditional cioppino. Dungeness crab is the most traditional key ingredient. Of course nothing is better than wild caught in your own boat, but most of us in flyover country are stuck visiting the seafood section of our grocery. The good news is that frozen bags of mixed shellfish can be pretty good. An example is Costco frozen "Premium Seafood Medley" which comes in reasonably priced 2.5lb bags.
Permission to use this recipe is withdrawn for anyone who omits the Dungeness crab. There are those who claim it is an optional ingredient in cioppino. We refer to those people as "wrong". If you're fond of one particular shellfish (like crab or shrimp) feel free to add more "to taste".
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Servings
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Ingredients
Main Ingredients
- 1 Tbsp olive oil
- 1 Tbsp butter
- 1 clove of garlic chopped
- 1/4 cup white wine
- 1 Whole Dungeness crab — 2lbs or larger. Unless you caught it yourself, it's already cooked - you just need to clean it. Optionally cracking it makes things a little easier on your guests. This is the star of the show!
- 1/2 lb firm-fleshed white fish fillets cut in 2-inch cubes — Something from the ocean, e.g. halibut, cod, mahi mahi or grouper. NOT tilapia, you heathens. While salmon and tuna are delicious, they aren't a good fit in cioppino.
- 2 qt Cioppino Sauce — See the cioppino sauce recipe, adjust to same number of servings you set for this recipe
- 2 dash Worcestershire sauce
- 1 pinch saffron — Nice, but OK to skip if you don't have any on hand. It's expensive!
- 1 lb linquini — Fresh is best, if you can find it.
Other Shellfish
- 2.5 lb frozen bag of mixed shellfish or:
- 1/2 lb Little Neck clams (live)
- 1/2 lb mussels (live) — scrubbed & de-bearded
- 1/2 lb medium shrimp — shell on
- 1/2 lb squid tubes — cut in rings
- 1/2 lb scallops — If using sea scallops (big) instead of bay scallops (small), consider halving or quartering them, or be extra careful everyone gets the same number! If dad gets three and mom gets one somebody is getting the stink eye.
Ingredients
Main Ingredients
Other Shellfish
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Instructions
- Put the olive oil, butter, and garlic in a wide, deep pot over medium heat, and cook, stirring, until the garlic is fragrant, but not brown.
- Boil & drain linguini, set aside and keep warm
- Add the wine
If using Bag O'Shellfish (adjust times if still frozen)
- Add the wine and all the clams and mussels from the bag, and cover. Steam medium-high about 5 minutes.
- Add crab and any extra shrimp, and simmer for about 5 minutes
If using Live Shellfish
- Add the wine and the clams, and cover. Turn the heat up to medium-high and steam until the clams start to open, about 5 minutes.
- Add the mussels, cover and steam until they just start to open, about 2 minutes.
Finish
- Add cioppino sauce, Worcestershire and saffron and bring to a simmer.
- Add remaining seafood and simmer about 5 more minutes
- Gently stir in the white fish and the rest of the bag o' shellfish, return to simmer until the fish is just cooked through.
Serve
- Place linguini in individual bowls and ladle the cioppino over the pasta. Have tools to crack shells, and lots of napkins! Try to make sure everybody gets a good amount of the crab! Sourdough bread is a great accompaniment. Set out a community bowl for the shells, which will make a great seafood stock.
Recipe Notes
View online at KillerNoms.com/cioppino
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