Cioppino is an Italian fish stew made with tomatoes, wine, and several different types of fish. It’s something that both Jared and I love to order when we go out to eat. It’s super flavorful but a really great healthy alternative to pasta when you’re out for Italian food. Traditionally, cioppino has Dungeness crab in it, as well as squid. This version has neither, but definitely feel free to use either of those ingredients in your version at home! I love squid, but my local fish monger just hasn’t had it recently so I developed the recipe without it. But it’s super easy to add squid into this dish, just add cleaned, sliced squid into the broth the same time you would add the shrimp and other fish.
This fish stew recipe leaves you with a good amount of additional broth. The reason for this is that you want all of your seafood to be able to be covered completely in the broth to cook, so you need a good amount of it! If you don’t want leftover broth, you can make less stock and cook this dish in a deeper stockpot (as opposed to the wider pot I use). But I actually love having the leftover broth, because you can do a ton with it! I would recommend you strain the broth when you are done serving it fresh. Then you can either freeze or refrigerate the rest of the broth and use it for dishes later. You can add additional fresh or frozen fish to the broth to get super quick cioppino, or you can add orzo to it and have it as soup, or throw it over some pasta with some shrimp. There are so many things you can do!
Making the Cioppino (Fish Stew)
To make the cioppino, first you need to make the broth. I like to make this as far in advance in the day as possible. It only gets better as it simmers, so I like to make the broth first thing in the morning and then just let it simmer away all day. Then when you’re ready to eat, you’ll just have to throw the seafood in there and you’ll have dinner ready in under 20 minutes.
First you will combine carrots, celery, onion, shallot, fennel and garlic and cook over medium high heat with some unsalted butter. Keep cooking until everything is softened and fragrant. Then you’ll add your red pepper flakes, tomato paste, crushed/pureed tomatoes, white wine, fish stock, seafood stock, and bay leaf. Bring to a boil.
Once your broth has come to a boil, reduce to a simmer and add the basil, Italian seasoning, and parsley. Cover and simmer as long as you wish! Definitely let it simmer for at least an hour, but let it roll all day if you can! Then, when you’re ready to add your fish, you’ll add your mussels and clams first. After about 8-10 minutes, they should be beginning to open. This depends on the size of your clams/mussels, the bigger they are, the longer they need to open! Once they have started to open, add in the rest of your fish and cook 5 minutes longer. Make sure all of your shrimp, scallops, and white fish are completely submerged in the broth.
Move the fish around after it’s added to completely submerge it 
After about 5 minutes, everything should be cooked through! Discard any clams and mussels that have not opened. Plate up the cioppino and top with fennel fronds.
If you love seafood dishes, check out my other recipes for Scallops with Burst Tomatoes, Linguine with Fresh Clam Sauce, and Shrimp and Champagne Sauce.
Cioppino (Fish Stew)
Ingredients
- 3 tbsp unsalted butter
- 3 stalks celery thinly sliced
- 2 carrots chopped
- 1 medium fennel bulb and stalks thinly sliced (reserve the fronds for later!)
- 4 shallots minced
- 5 cloves garlic minced
- 2 tsp kosher salt
- 1/2 tsp red pepper flakes or more/less, to taste
- 2 tbsp tomato paste
- 1 28oz can crushed tomatoes or tomato puree
- 1.5 cups dry white wine
- 2.5 cups fish stock
- 2.5 cups seafood stock or clam juice
- 1 bay leaf
- 2 tbsp fresh chopped basil
- 1 tbsp chopped parsley
- 1/2 tbsp Italian seasoning
- 1 lb clams cleaned and scrubbed
- 1 lb mussels cleaned and scrubbed
- 1 lb large shrimp cleaned and deveined
- 1 lb firm white fish, cut into 2 inch chunks like cod or halibut
- 0.5 lb scallops
- Squeeze of lemon
Instructions
- In a very large stockpot or dutch oven over medium high heat (I use my 9qt Le Creuset), combine the butter, celery, carrots, fennel, shallots and garlic. Cook, stirring frequently, until softened and fragrant.
- Add the salt, red pepper flakes, tomato paste, crushed tomatoes, white wine, stocks, and bay leaf. Bring to a boil.
- Once the stew is boiling, reduce to a simmer. Add the basil, parsley, and Italian seasoning. Cover and allow the soup to simmer for at least 1 hour. I like to make this stew base in the morning and let it simmer away all day. Once you add the fish, you only need about 10-15 minutes of cook time so it'll come together quickly once you're ready to eat.
- Once you are finished simmering your broth and are ready to add your fish, taste the broth and season to taste. You may want to add more salt or red pepper.
- Add the clams and mussels to the pot and cover for 8-10 minutes. The clams and mussels should be beginning to open.
- Add the shrimp, scallops and white fish. Make sure they are fully submerged in the broth.
- Cover and cook for about 5 minutes longer, until all of the fish is cooked and the clams/mussels are open. If there are any clams or mussels that are fully closed, discard them.
- Ladle into bowls and top with the reserved fennel fronds.
