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A thundering pot of Dungeness crab, briny clams, plump mussels, and tender fish swimming in a garlicky tomato broth that demands crusty sourdough and a stack of napkins. This is Pacific coastal cooking at its most generous.
Cioppino belongs to the fishermen. Italian immigrants working the waters around San Francisco created this stew in the late 1800s, tossing whatever the day's catch yielded into a communal pot. The name likely comes from ciuppin, a Ligurian fish stew, though some say it derives from the fishermen calling out to chip in their portion. Either way, the dish tells a story of immigrants adapting Old World traditions to New World abundance.
In the Pacific Northwest, we've inherited this tradition and made it our own. Our waters run cold and clean. They yield Dungeness crab with meat so sweet it needs nothing but heat to shine. Clams and mussels filter these pristine currents, developing a salinity that Europeans cross oceans to taste. The salmon runs that sustained Native peoples for millennia still return each year, though we must now be thoughtful stewards of what we take.
This version honors the regional bounty while respecting the Italian soul of the dish. The broth builds on a soffritto of onion, fennel, and celery. San Marzano tomatoes provide body without overwhelming the seafood. A healthy pour of dry white wine cuts the richness. The cooking itself takes barely an hour, but the eating should stretch much longer. Put the pot in the center of the table. Give everyone a bowl, a spoon, and permission to make a mess.
I've served this at dinner parties where conversation stopped entirely, replaced by the sounds of shells cracking and bread sopping up broth. That's the highest compliment a cook can receive.
Quantity
1 (about 2 lbs)
cracked into pieces
Quantity
1 lb
scrubbed
Quantity
1 lb
scrubbed and debearded
Quantity
1 lb
cut into 2-inch pieces
Quantity
1/2 lb
Quantity
1/4 cup
Quantity
1 large
diced
Quantity
1
cored and diced, fronds reserved
Quantity
3
diced
Quantity
8 cloves
minced
Quantity
1 teaspoon
Quantity
1 cup
Quantity
1 can (28 oz)
crushed by hand
Quantity
4 cups
Quantity
1
Quantity
1 teaspoon
Quantity
1/2 teaspoon
lightly crushed
Quantity
1 tablespoon
Quantity
from 1 lemon
Quantity
1/4 cup
roughly chopped
Quantity
2 tablespoons
torn
Quantity
to taste
Quantity
to taste
Quantity
for serving
| Ingredient | Quantity |
|---|---|
| whole Dungeness crab, cooked and cleanedcracked into pieces | 1 (about 2 lbs) |
| Manila clamsscrubbed | 1 lb |
| musselsscrubbed and debearded | 1 lb |
| firm white fish (halibut or lingcod)cut into 2-inch pieces | 1 lb |
| spot prawns or large shrimp, shell-on | 1/2 lb |
| extra-virgin olive oil | 1/4 cup |
| yellow oniondiced | 1 large |
| fennel bulbcored and diced, fronds reserved | 1 |
| celery stalksdiced | 3 |
| garlicminced | 8 cloves |
| red pepper flakes | 1 teaspoon |
| dry white wine | 1 cup |
| San Marzano whole tomatoescrushed by hand | 1 can (28 oz) |
| fish stock or clam juice | 4 cups |
| bay leaf | 1 |
| dried oregano | 1 teaspoon |
| fennel seedslightly crushed | 1/2 teaspoon |
| tomato paste | 1 tablespoon |
| lemon zest | from 1 lemon |
| fresh Italian parsleyroughly chopped | 1/4 cup |
| fresh basiltorn | 2 tablespoons |
| kosher salt | to taste |
| freshly ground black pepper | to taste |
| crusty sourdough bread | for serving |
Lay out all your seafood on a sheet pan and inspect it. Tap any open clams or mussels sharply against the counter. If they don't close within a few seconds, they're dead. Discard them. Pull the beards from your mussels with a firm tug toward the hinge end. Rinse the fish pieces and pat them dry. Season lightly with salt. The shellfish will contribute plenty of salinity, so restraint serves you here.
Set a large Dutch oven or heavy-bottomed pot over medium heat. Add the olive oil and let it warm until it shimmers and flows easily when you tilt the pan. Add the onion, fennel, and celery. Season with a pinch of salt to draw out moisture. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the vegetables soften and turn translucent, about 10 minutes. You're not looking for color here. You want them to melt into sweetness.
Push the vegetables to the sides of the pot and add the garlic to the center where the oil pools. Let it sizzle for 30 seconds until fragrant but not browned. Stir in the red pepper flakes, fennel seeds, and oregano. Toast the spices in the oil for another 30 seconds. The kitchen should smell like a reason to stay home.
Pour in the white wine. It will hiss and sputter against the hot pot. Use a wooden spoon to scrape up any bits stuck to the bottom. These fond deposits carry concentrated flavor. Let the wine reduce by half, about 3 minutes. The sharp alcohol smell should give way to something rounder and more inviting.
Stir in the tomato paste until it coats the vegetables, then add the crushed tomatoes with their juices. Pour in the fish stock. Tuck in the bay leaf. Bring the liquid to a simmer and let it cook uncovered for 20 minutes. The broth should reduce slightly and deepen in color from bright red to a richer brick tone. Taste it now. Adjust the salt. The seafood will release its own brine, so err on the side of under-seasoning.
Nestle the clams into the broth first. They take longest to open. Cover the pot and cook for 4 minutes. Then add the mussels, tucking them among the clams. Cover again and cook until the shells begin to gape, another 4 to 5 minutes. As each one opens, it releases a small gift of liquor into the broth. The pot now smells unmistakably of the sea.
Gently lower the fish pieces and prawns into the broth, spacing them so they cook evenly. Lay the cracked Dungeness crab pieces on top. The crab is already cooked, so it only needs to heat through and absorb the broth's flavors. Cover and simmer gently for 5 to 6 minutes. The fish should turn opaque and flake easily when prodded. The prawns curl and turn pink. Don't stir aggressively or you'll break the fish apart.
Remove the pot from heat. Discard the bay leaf. Scatter the lemon zest, parsley, and torn basil over the surface. Give it one final taste. The broth should be bright with tomato, briny from the shellfish, fragrant with garlic and herbs. Ladle generous portions into wide, shallow bowls, making sure everyone gets a piece of crab, some clams, mussels, fish, and prawns. Garnish with the reserved fennel fronds. Set the sourdough in the center of the table with a cruel amount of good butter. Provide empty bowls for shells and more napkins than you think necessary.
1 serving (about 460g)
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