| Level: | Easy |
| Total: | 1 hr 45 min |
| Prep: | 30 min |
| Cook: | 1 hr 15 min |
| Yield: | 6 to 8 servings |
| Level: | Easy |
| Total: | 1 hr 45 min |
| Prep: | 30 min |
| Cook: | 1 hr 15 min |
| Yield: | 6 to 8 servings |
Ingredients
- 2 quarts fish fumet, recipe follows (can substitute mixture of 2 parts water to 1 part clam juice)
- Pinch saffron
- 6 tablespoons olive oil, or as needed
- 5 large garlic cloves, minced
- 2 medium onions, chopped
- 1 head fennel, sliced
- Grey salt and freshly ground black pepper
- 1 tablespoon toasted fennel seed
- 1 bay leaf
- 1 teaspoon dried oregano
- 2 tablespoons tomato paste
- 1 (28-ounce) can whole plum tomatoes, drained and chopped
- 2 cups dry white wine
- 1/2 cup pernod
- 5 whole jalapenos
- 1/4 cup fresh chopped parsley leaves
- 3 tablespoons fresh chopped basil leaves
- 2 tablespoons fresh chopped tarragon leaves
- 2 pounds littleneck clams
- 1 pound cooked crab legs, cracked into 1 1/2-inch pieces
- 1 pound large shrimp, peeled and deveined, tails left on
- 1 stick unsalted butter, at room temperature
- 2 pounds halibut fillet, skinned, cut into 1 1/2-inch pieces
- 3/4 pound sea scallops, foot removed
- 5 1/2 pounds bones and trimmings from white fish
- 10 cups cold water
- 2 cups dry white wine
- 6 ounces mushrooms, sliced
- 1 small onion, sliced thin
- 3 shallots, slice thin
- 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
- 10 sprigs fresh parsley
- 1 sprig thyme
- 2 teaspoons peppercorns
- 1 teaspoon fennel seeds
- 1 bay leaf
Instructions
- Heat 2 cups fumet, clam juice or water in a small saucepan. Add saffron, simmer about 5 minutes, remove from heat and set aside.
- Heat 1/4 cup olive oil oil in an 8-quart pot over medium-high heat. Add garlic, allowing it to brown for about 20 seconds, then add onions, fennel, and a pinch of salt. Cook until vegetables are softened, about 4 minutes. Add fennel seed, bay leaf and oregano. Stir and cook for 30 seconds. Add tomato paste. Cook, stirring, until paste darkens a bit, about 2 to 3 minutes. Add chopped tomatoes (squeeze them slightly through your fingers to soften first), white wine, pernod and the saffron flavored fish fumet, clam juice or water. Add remaining fish fumet, clam juice or water, whole jalapenos and bring to a boil. Season with salt and pepper. Cook until liquid has reduced by half. Cover pan and simmer for 30 minutes.
- Skim the fat from the soup, and add parsley, basil and tarragon. Add clams and simmer until clams open, about 3 minutes (discard any unopened clams). Add crab pieces and heat through. With a pair of tongs, remove crab legs to warmed serving bowls. Place a colander with shrimp in it, into the pot without submerging it completely. When shrimp are just cooked and pink and add to serving bowls. Use tongs to fish out the clams, add to serving bowls. Melt the butter in the broth, stirring as it melts.
- Meanwhile, season halibut and scallops with salt and pepper. Heat a skillet over medium-high heat, add 2 tablespoons oil. Cook the haibut and scallops, without stirring, until browned, about 2 minutes. Turn and cook another 30 seconds. Fish will be slightly underdone. Cover scallops and sautéed fish with ladles of broth, bring to a simmer, then transfer scallops and fish to the serving bowls.
- Remove bay leaf and the jalapeno peppers from pot. Season broth with salt and pepper. Pour broth over fish in bowls.
- Mash the softened jalapeno peppers into a paste, and serve as a garnish for guests who like their Cioppino spicy.
- Place all ingredients in a large stockpot. Bring to a boil. Lower heat and simmer for 30 minutes. Strain fumet and allow to cool before storing.
Reviews
I always read the reviews and comments first . When the recipe calls for expensive ingredients you really have to read comments first to see if the time and expense is worth it. Well this recipe seems to hit all the mark according to all the reviews i read. So I am taking the bait, going to make it for Christmas Eve, wish me luck and I wish you a happy Christmas.
This was a lot more work than how I’ve made before but it was worth it! Luckily I got a fresh whole halibut(used bones for fish Broth), tiger prawns & clams. I didn’t have time to go buy scallops but it was still really good. I’m from San Francisco & has some really yummy Cioppino before. Highly recommend it!
Delicious, delicious, delicious. When ever I make this I get rave reviews. It makes a lot, and it’s a bit expensive (but not for a crowd). I through in a lot of seafood, but it’s SO worth it.
This is a phenomenal recipe. I made this for Christmas Eve for 20, for a crowd that’s fairly experienced with cioppino, it was a huge hit. The fennel, fennel seeds and Pernot (I found it at BevMo) give it a really complex, layered flavor. The best part though is pan frying the fish and scallops separately, plating them first, then adding the broth. That way, the fish doesn’t overcook and fall apart, and you get a nice crust on the fish and scallops. This is so much better than trying to cook everything in one pot, much, much easier, especially when doing cioppino for a big crowd.
Made this for my Dad on a whim, originally was just having fish dinner, pulled this together almost exactly as Michael’s recipe is written with one change. I added two links of fresh Chorizo at the beginning with the onion and fennel. My Dad and my husband ate until they couldn’t eat any more – and that’s saying something! The flavor is amazing every component in this recipe adds deliciousness. I will definitely make this again and again! While easy, the timing of everything was a little bit of a juggling act, but well worth the final product. I also served this with sour dough crostini.
Was our Christmas Eve entree. Very good, very easy and would easily serve 8. A Few tips and modifications. 1. See “Ma’s Cooking” comment re just putting all raw fish in at end and letting it cook. That’s what we did and it was very easy and less fuss than the original recipe. 2. We omitted fennel seed. 3. Omitted butter at end, although next time we’d drizzle each bowl with a little EVOO before serving. 4. Used uber fresh fish and shellfish. 1.5 lb each medium shrimp and cod – latter subbed for halibut, 8 oz shelled whole clams, ten large sea scallops quartered. 5. The Pernod and fresh herbs make this. Jalapenos add a grassy green element and just an essence of heat. Nice. 6. Put a garlic rubbed crostini in the bottom of each bowl to soak up the juices.
Outstanding! I have made this twice, have varied the seafood to our preferences and availability, and it was absolutely delicious. It will now be a holiday tradition in our household!
my new go to recipe to impress! I splurged and bought Pernot and it was worth it, now I have it on hand. First time followed recipe as is, after that used my favorite Trader Joe’s frozen seafood mix and mussells. awesome. I used left over broth for risotto the next day which was fantastic. Well worth the time on this one.
This is the best! Once the base is done, which is very simple you can pick and choose seafood, but you need some shell on clams for flavor. Then you really only need a couple types of seafood and I only make 1/2 recipe. It serves 4. The key is the Fish Fumet made with same day fresh fish bones. I live at the ocean, so I get the scrapes right off the boat. I freeze the fumet in one cup containers. For this recipe, I only use 2 cups fumet and the balance water. I skip all the ceremony at the end and omit the butter. Make the base first, it can rest a few minutes and finish your other preparation. Reheat. Just toss in some mild fish for a couple of minutes and raw shrimp or scallops and serve. The large scallops take another couple of minutes.The shrimp will cook by the time it gets in the bowl.
The best cioppino ever! My husband and I have had this dish in San Fran – did not come close to Michael’s cioppano. I did not have fish broth so I added ground dried shrimp from our local Mexican store with some fresh lemon juice. No pernod, and I used sake intead of white wine. Shrimp, squid, bay scallops, cod and crab rounded out the dish. I got rave reviews!! The secret to this cioppano is the fennel and tarragon – makes a huge difference in fish dishes.