Cioppino - seafood comfort food

As usual I have no idea whether this is authentic or not but I made it last night in my quest to use the 80 lbs or so of halibut that we caught in Alaska over the summer. The recipe came from an article in the Chicago Tribune but I think it was lifted from Los Angeles Times. Anyway the point of the article was that tomatoes and wine when cooked together meld into something much more than either of them separately. I have to agree. This is real comfort food, and not very complicated or difficult to make. I know people have strong feelings about what should be in this - exactly which shellfish or what seasoning or whatever. I'd love to hear about your favorite method but this worked very well. It's extremely satisfying and I kept going back to the ingredient list to figure out why it seemed so rich but really it's quite healthy too.

Ingredients:

2 tbl Olive oil
1 medium yellow onion - chopped
1 bunch green onions- chopped
1 head of garlic - smash and peel the cloves - you could dice it or crush it but I've been just throwing the whole smashed cloves into stews lately
1 green pepper
1/2 tsp oregano
1/2 tsp basil
2 cups red wine
1 28 oz can crushed tomatoes
1 tsp salt
crushed red pepper to taste
fresh ground black pepper to taste

1 1/2 lb halibut - 1 inch cubes
1 lb turbot - 1 inch cubes
1 lb medium shrimp - peeled
1/2 lb squid - cut up into bite size pieces
1 lb mussels - cleaned

Heat the olive oil in a saucepan. Add the onions, green onions, and green pepper and cook until soft. Add the oregano and basil and whatever seasonings you prefer - red pepper, black pepper and cook for a minute or two, add the garlic and cook until fragrant - about 2- 3 minutes. Add the squid and mix well. Then add the wine and tomatoes and salt and mix well. Simmer with the top off for 45 minutes - 1 hour stirring occasionally. (This can be done several hours or even a day in advance if you cover and refrigerate it at this point).

Put some sauce in the bottom of a Dutch Oven. Layer your seafood alternating with sauce with the firmest on bottom and most delicate on top - mine went halibut, turbot, shrimp, mussels. Cover with any remaining sauce put the top on and cook over medium heat for about 20 minutes until the mussels open. The fish should be just done. Serve hot with fresh baguettes (thanks Walt, wherever you are) and prepare to be comforted.

[Robin Garr]

As usual I have no idea whether this is authentic or not

As if it matters!

Looks great, Howard. I love cioppino, but as best I've been able to determine it's a relatively modern (20th century) San Francisco Italian dish rather than "authentic" Old Country Italian, although it's certainly kissing kin of a lot of Mediterranean seafood stews, even <i>bouillabaisse</i>.

[Jenise]

as best I've been able to determine it's a relatively modern (20th century) San Francisco Italian dish rather than "authentic"

My understanding too. A hot comforting stew the fishermen would make at the end of the day with whatever fish didn't sell.

"Authetntic" is whatever you want it to be, Howie. And that's from a cioppino loving denizen of the San Francisco Bay area!

I love the stuff, too, and we eat it a lot, especially in the wintertime, when the shellfish and seafood are plentiful around here and the stuff tastes comforting on a cold, dreary day.

You can also use scallops if you like, and clams even. We use Dungeness Crab around here, but that's because we have Dungeness crab, and if you have Dungeness, you should use Dungeness.

But cioppino can vary greatly from restaurant to restaurant and home kitchen to home kitchen. It's mostly all good though: the only ones I don't care for are the ones with really thin broth instead of the hearty, rich, tomato heavy and spice heavy base.

Hmm. I may have to make some cioppino tonight.

Nah, it ain't authentic, but as Robin said, who cares? It looks good.

Yep, it's a San Francisco treat. I've made it hundreds of times over the years. The original had Dungeness crab, clams (sometimes mussels) , shrimp, tomatoes, fish stock and lots of garlic. The fish employed is always a firm-fleshed fish. Most often, what was called "red snapper" (legitimately) on the West Coast, but was in reality rock cod.

A little googling confirms that this is a dish created in San Francisco to warm the stomachs and souls of the fisherpeople there. It is tasty. I could eat this a lot.

"But cioppino can vary greatly from restaurant to restaurant and home kitchen to home kitchen. It's mostly all good though: the only ones I don't care for are the ones with really thin broth instead of the hearty, rich, tomato heavy and spice heavy base.

Hmm. I may have to make some cioppino tonight. "

It's that hearty rich tomato heavy and spice heavy base that is soooo comforting, I think. And sop it up with some fresh bread - doesn't get much better than that. You can keep your flavored paper foam dishes. I'll take this any day of the week. It surprised me, somehow, how rich tasting this was without any added butter or thickeners. Just the olive oil to cook the onions/veggies and the rest created by the blending of the wine and tomatoes.

This sounds so good, and yes, it is very healthy, all good fats. I think a splash or two of a good white wine might be nice. What do you think?

I think a splash or two of a good white wine might be nice.

I think a splash or two of a good white wine is always a good idea. And I like to cook with it too.

Sorry, I couldn't resist.

Seriously, I find I use a little white wine to finish a lot of things just like a little lemon juice or a little vinegar. Not enough to really taste, just enough to "brighten" the flavors. I'll try it with this. I wouldn't have thought of it because I tend to divide things in my head into red wine dishes and white wine dishes, but of course, there's no reason to be rigid.