Some dishes always feel just a little bit more special than others. Cioppino, or Fisherman’s Stew if you prefer, is a dish that for whatever reason always makes me feel like it’s a special occasion. Simple, yet indulgent ingredients like fresh, quality seafood in a beautiful broth will always be tops in my book.
Cioppino and a bottle of wine
This is one of those recipes that demand vinyl to be played and dancing to commence in the kitchen while you cook. It’s one of those recipes where you better be prepared to make it single-handedly because your other hand should have a fresh glass of wine chilling in it. I mean, the recipe calls for wine, so what else are you going to do with the rest of the bottle – just let it sit there? That’s just plain wasteful. I generally like to make my Cioppino with a dry white wine such as Sauvignon Blanc or Pinot Gris.
A little history for your palate
Cioppino’s origins can be traced to early 1800s San Francisco history by Italian-American immigrants. Fishermen who were unsuccessful with their catch that day would walk around with a pot to other fishermen, asking them to chip in what they could. The collected sea fare became their Cioppino, a varied collection of whatever was caught that day made into a stew that night. Its roots are heavily Italian, but also share similarities with the Bouillabaisse of French cuisine.
A note for special diets
This Cioppino is grain-free, gluten-free and friendly for Paleo, Keto, and SIBO diets. Traditionally, Cioppino is paired with a crusty baguette but we limit our grain at home and find that this soup is super filling on its own. If you aren’t adverse to some extra carbs and starches and want to increase the heartiness of this stew in the winter months, cannellini, great white northern, or kidney beans make for a great grain-free addition.
Cioppino (Fisherman's Stew)
Prep
Cook
Total
Yield 6 large portions
Ingredients
- 1/2 lb Italian sausage, ground
- 2 tbsp garlic oil (may sub 2 tbsp avocado or olive oil plus 4 garlic cloves, minced)
- 1 1/2 cup fennel, finely diced
- 1 cup green onion, chopped
- 3 tbsp tomato paste
- 1 1/2 cup dry white wine (I usually use a Sauvignon Blanc or a Pinot Gris)
- 1 (32oz) chicken broth
- 1 (14.5oz) can diced roasted tomatoes
- 2-3 tsp fish sauce (I prefer Red Boat)
- 1/2 tsp cracked black pepper
- 1/4 tsp red pepper flakes
- 1 bay leaf (optional)
- 8 oz firm white fish (cod, tilapia, halibut, haddock), diced into 1.5-inch cubes
- 1 lb mussels, washed, debearded, and set to chill in an ice bath
- 1 lb large prawns or shrimp, peeled, deveined, and tails removed
- 3/4 cup flat leaf parsley, chopped
- 1/2 a lemon
Instructions
- In a large deep lidded saute pan over medium-high heat, brown ground sausage. Drain grease and set meat to the side in a separate bowl.
- In the same pan over medium heat, add garlic oil, fennel, and green onion. Sautee until fragrant about 3-5 minutes.
- Turn heat up to medium-high. Add the tomato paste and cook another 3 minutes, stirring constantly. The paste should deepen in color significantly.
- Add the white wine and cook down by half. Scrape down the pan while this cooks down, so the delicious bits of fennel and onion do not burn.
- Add back the Italian sausage as well as the chicken stock, tomatoes, fish sauce, cracked pepper, red pepper flakes, and bay leaf. Stir to combine and bring to a simmer.
- Taste the broth and adjust fish sauce, if needed. Fish sauce is naturally very salty, so a little goes a long way. I generally add in 1/2 tsp increments, stir, and then taste when adding more.
- Add white fish and simmer for about 2 minutes, then add prawns. If the prawns are already fully-cooked you can add your mussels in immediately as the prawns will just need to come back to temperature and you don't want to overcook them. If your prawns are raw, cook around 2 minutes before you add the mussels to the pan. They should be turning slightly pink by the time the mussels hit the pan.
- Cover your pan with the lid and allow to cook for 4-5 minutes undisturbed, or until all the mussels have opened and the flesh looks plump and fully cooked. Your prawns should be fully pink and cooked through by this time as well. The lid on my saute pan is glass, which makes this much easier. If your lid is not glass, monitor your pot closely. You want the mussels to cook evenly, making the lid handy, but you don't want the pan to simmer over the side.
- Discard bay leaf. Stir parsley and squeeze the half lemon into the stew, then serve immediately. I usually discard any mussels that did not open as it's possible that the mussel was dead before it hit the pan, and therefore not a safe option to eat. It's common to have one or two in a large bunch that do not open, even from the freshest seafood purveyors. I know some people say that these can still be fine, but I never like to take the chance.
Courses Main Courses, Soups & Stews
Cuisine Italian
Nutrition Facts
Serving Size 1 portion
Amount Per Serving | ||
|---|---|---|
Calories 440 | ||
% Daily Value | ||
Total Fat 17 g | 26% | |
Saturated Fat 5 g | 25% | |
Cholesterol 59 mg | 20% | |
Sodium 1407 mg | 59% | |
Total Carbohydrates 11 g | 4% | |
Dietary Fiber 3 g | 12% | |
Sugars 5 g | ||
Protein 42 g | 84% | |
* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2,000 calorie diet. Your daily values may be higher or lower depending on your calorie needs.
My husband LOVES cioppino! I haven’t made it for years, I’ll have to try this recipe. Thanks for sharing!
This bowl looks absolutely divine right now! My hubs is doing keto and will be stoked to see this on the table!
This looks and sounds divine! It’s been so rainy here this week and I’d love nothing more than to dive into a big bowl of this good stuff. So many warming flavors!
I could sure go for a bowl of this today!
Healthy & flavorful – my two favorite things!
I’ve actually never heard of cioppino but it sounds like a great combination of flavors. And yes the wine would be a must in the other hand 🙂
Ok I know my husband would love this! He likes any kind of seafood dish 🙂 Thanks for the recipe!
I had cioppino at Tadich Grill in San Francisco, and it was one of the best dishes I’ve ever had. I’m always afraid to try to recreate dishes like these…yours looks so delicious, and I’m kind of inspired to jump in and try it now! Saving this one for sure
This sounds heavenly and I agree – definitely “special occasion worthy.” I always feel like seafood is special!
Also, now I want wine 🙂
Gorgeous photos, this looks utterly delicious and full of flavor!
Oh this recipe and the gorgeous photos look so good! I’ve pinned because I can’t miss this one! Thanks for the yummy share!
I never heard the origins of this beautiful dish! To my taste, it was always kind of fancy. I like that its beginnings were so humble.
Saving this for a dinner soon! It looks so YUMMY and I’m always looking for new things to try- thank you for sharing!!
The origin of this recipe is fascinating! Looks great.
I’ve never had cioppino before, but it looks delicious. Love that it contains a variety of awesome seafood and is healthy too!
xoxo
Annie
This looks so good, my mouth is watering! I love that it’s also low-carb! Totally guilt-free!
I swear to you, I was just reading a book and they were eating this soup! How fun that now I have found the recipe.
Love Love Love the history of the dish!! I also can’t wait to try it!! Pinned for later! Thank you
OMG, you’re speaking my language! I LOVE fishermen’s stew. It’s one of my faves to order at any seafood restaurant, and one of the dishes I used to make often for date nights 🙂
This looks delicious! I think we all could take a little something from it’s history and start using more of what we have in the kitchen already. 🙂 Sometimes it can be a fun challenge to work with what you already have instead of buying more. I love that this stew has mussels in it, too!
Oh, this looks super yummy. I will definitely have to try this. I love trying new recipes!!
Love this little history lesson for one of my favorite restaurant dishes! I’ll need to give this one a try at home. It’s such a comforting seafood meal!
This cioppino looks and sounds amazing! Can’t wait to try it!
OH my yum! I’m going to have to pin this recipe for later. Look so good.
yum this looks fantastic! I have never seen something like this
Oh my gosh I need to try ASAP! This is delicious. This is a great idea for dinner for me and my family. This is really very tasty! Perfectly! Thanks for the recipe!
Oh, wow! This looks wonderful! I love this stew, but have never made it myself. I will definitely give it a go! Lovely!
Haha, I am with you – if a recipe calls for a bit of wine, you can bet I’ll be sipping on a little bit more while I wrap up the cooking. Seems like cook’s prerogative, if you ask me! Especially if you’re making this lovely cioppino for everyone– then you’re definitely entitled to all the wine you want! 🙂
This is one of my favorite dishes to enjoy when in San Francisco and now I’m craving it. I’ll just have to make this at home 🙂
This sounds delicious! I grew up in SF, and so this dish always takes me back
There aren’t a lot of recipes that make me miss eating meat and seafood, but this is one of them! Looks yummy
Sounds like a great meal for just about everyone! And I think my husband would really love it!
I’ve had this at restaurants in the past but I have never seen a recipe for this dish. I can’t wait to try it! Thanks for sharing!
Wow! What a hearty and tasty-looking soup. Thanks for all of these details. 🙂
Oh wow I bet my hubs would love this stew!
Thanks for including the history of this dish! I always find food history and origins very interesting.
Definitely saving this recipe for later. It looks absolutely delicious! 🙂
Uhm you had me at Keto friendly. I’ve been looking for new dishes I can eat on this diet and this seriously has my mouth watering. Can’t wait to try it!
This is so interesting! I loved learning the history of Cioppino. My hubby would enjoy this recipe.
A meal for special occasions indeed. It sounds divine and I always enjoy learning about the background stories of dishes , so thanks for that.
This is one of my FAVORITE dishes!
My husband would LOVE this recipe! I’m pinning it for later 🙂
I love cioppino, and this recipe looks amazing. I agree that this stew is extremely filling, but I still like to have a crusty baguette to dip into my bowl of cioppino. I’ve pinned this recipe so I can make it more than once.
Never heard of it but sounds like my new fave! Can’t wait to try it soon. Also like you share the history of it..thank you for sharing to us.
The base of the stew sounds so delicious all those spices and tomatoes. Love the Italian San Francisco background for this famous stew.
This sounds like a dream to my fish loving husband and mussels crazy daughter. One dish which mkaes both happy. Thanks for this.
I love the colors is this stew, it’s so beautiful. It’s true we eat with our eyes. Going to save this, I betcha hubby will love this!
I’ve never had this stew, but the flavors sound amazing! Especially with sausage and shrimp! Yum!
Such a colourful homemade stew.
This is making my mouth water! Beautiful pic and amazing recipe. I love your use of sausage in this dish and the combination of your broth and the seafood is lovely.
Oh, I love seafood stew/cioppino/bouillabaise, and your rendition looks fabulous! Living in south Texas near the Gulf, I make it many different ways myself, and I agree that it always feels “special!”
I can’t have shrimp but I bet my husband would love this! I’ll have to pass it along so he can treat himself some night when I’m working late. 🙂
This meal looks so appetizing!! I absolutely love the delicious ingredients!
I haven’t had a good cioppino since I was in San Francisco and yours is bringing back all kinds of good memories! This looks absolutely stellar!
So delicious for summer! Looks incredible
Food and history sounds great! This looks so tasty