Bring in the new year with a classic seafood stew! It’s cold outside and this seafood stew is rich, briny, and perfect for a special dinner. Serve with toasted garlic bread. Make sure to buy good quality fish and seafood.

Cioppino

San Francisco Seafood Stew (chuh-pee-no)

Yield: 4–6 servings
Time: ~45 minutes

Ingredients
Vegetables and spices
3 Tbsp olive oil
1 large onion, diced
1 fennel bulb, diced
(optional but traditional)
4 cloves garlic, minced
1 tsp crushed red pepper flakes (to taste)
2 Tbsp tomato paste

Liquids
1 cup dry white wine
1 (28-oz) can crushed tomatoes (preferably San Marzano)
3 cups seafood or fish stock
1 bay leaf

Seafood (mix & match)
1 lb firm white fish (halibut, cod, rockfish), large chunks
1 lb mussels, scrubbed and debearded
1 lb clams (Manila or littleneck), scrubbed
3/4 lb large shrimp, shell-on if possible
1/2 lb scallops
1/2 lb crab meat

Finish
Salt & freshly cracked black pepper
2 Tbsp chopped fresh parsley
2 Tbsp chopped fresh basil
Zest of 1 lemon using a microplane (optional)

Procedure

Build the base

• Heat olive oil in a large, wide pot over medium heat.
• Add onion and fennel; cook until soft and translucent (6–8 min).
• Stir in garlic and cook for 1–2 minutes.
• Add red pepper flakes; cook for 30 seconds.
• Add tomato paste and cook for 1–2 minutes to caramelize.

Deglaze & simmer

• Pour in white wine, scraping the pot. Reduce by half.
• Add crushed tomatoes, seafood stock and bay leaf.
• Simmer gently for 20 minutes. Season lightly with salt and pepper.

Cook seafood in stages

• Add firm white fish and simmer 2–3 minutes
• Add clams and mussels, cover, cook 3–4 minutes until opening
• Add shrimp, scallops, and crab; simmer just until shrimp are pink (2–3 minutes)
• Discard any shellfish that do not open.

Finish

• • Remove bay leaf. Adjust seasoning with salt.
• • Stir in parsley, basil, and lemon zest if using.

Serve

• Ladle into warm bowls with plenty of broth.
• Serve with toasted sourdough for dipping!
• Dry white wine matters—avoid anything sweet.
• Shell-on shrimp deepen flavor.
• Cioppino should be brothy, not thick.
• Make the broth ahead—seafood is best added just before serving

Brendalee (Vialpando) Reiplinger is a Questa native who has worked her way up the culinary ladder and is currently executive chef at The Lodge at Bodega Bay, located off the Sonoma Coast in CA. Brendalee credits her hospitality and joy of preparing food from her upbringing in Questa.