Cioppino was developed in the late 1800s by Italian immigrants who fished off Meiggs Wharf and lived in the North Beach neighborhood of San Francisco, many from the port city of Genoa. When a fisherman came back empty handed, they would walk around with a pot to the other fishermen asking them to chip in whatever they could. What ever ended up in the pot became their Cioppino. The fishermen that chipped in expected the same treatment if they came back empty handed in the future. It later became a staple as Italian restaurants proliferated in San Francisco.
Fish Stock 🐟🦀🦐🐟🐡🦑
You’ll hear people tell you that “you have to make your own stock!” and my opinion is that it’s lovely to make but if you don’t want to, you don’t have to. However, I have done exactly that!
Visit your fishmonger and they will be more than happy to give you the heads and bones of the fish they have been filleting (Oily fish like Mackerel are not ideal as they have strong tastes that overpowers the stock).
Once you have your fish, lay them out and portion into manageable pieces so they can be accommodated into the stock pot.
Add to this;
One large onion (quartered)
2 large carrots (peeled and rough chop)
4 celery stalks (rough chop)
Parsley stalks
3 bay leaves
Salt and pepper
And a whole lemon quartered
Fill the pot with water so it’s just covering the fish and veg and simmer on low/med heat, lid on for 2 hours to give the fat and collagen time to break down and impart it’s flavour in the stock.
Let the stock cool down and strain through a sieve to make sure that you catch any bones left in the broth and set to one side ready for the dish.
Tip: you can freeze stock for future use so invest in some suitable containers and keep the leftover liquid for another dish.
You can use any fish you like in this dish, I tend to stick to a meaty white fish like hake, clams, mussels, prawns, squid, etc…
Ingredients;
3 tablespoons olive oil
1 large fennel bulb, thinly sliced
1 onion, chopped
3 large shallots, chopped
2 teaspoons salt
4 large garlic cloves, finely chopped
3/4 teaspoon dried crushed red pepper flakes, plus more to taste
1/4 cup tomato paste
28 ounces of quality tomato passata
1 1/2 cups dry white wine
5 cups of your fish stock
1 large orange
2 bay leaves
1 tablespoon of pesto rosso
1 can of butter beans
1 can of cannellini beans
Heat the oil in a very large pot over medium heat. Add the fennel, onion, shallots, and salt and saute until the onion is translucent, about 10 minutes. Add the garlic and 3/4 teaspoon of red pepper flakes, white wine, and saute 2 minutes until the liquid evaporates. Stir in the tomato paste. Add tomato passata, fish stock, orange juice, bay leaves and a slice of orange peel. Cover and bring to a simmer. Reduce the heat to medium-low. Cover and simmer until the flavours blend, about 30 minutes.
Add the beans, clams and mussels to the cooking liquid. Cover and cook until the clams and mussels begin to open, about 5 minutes. Add the prawns, squid and white fish. Simmer gently until the fish, squid and shrimp are just cooked through, and the clams are completely open, stirring gently, about 5 minutes longer (discard any clams and mussels that do not open). Season the soup, to taste, with more salt, red pepper flakes and a tablespoon of pesto rosso.
Ladle the soup into bowls and serve with a large crusty baguette 🥖
Flamin' Joe's BBQ Co. 