You can’t go to San Francisco’s North Beach neighborhood without hearing the story of how cioppino — the region’s famous tomato-based seafood stew — got its name. As legend has it, Italian fishermen there in the late 1800s had a custom of chipping in some of the day’s catch — fish, shrimp, clams, mussels, crab etc. — to a communal stew pot. Say “chip in” with an Italian accent, and you'll see how it might have morphed into "chip-EE-no."
Whether the story is true or not, this stew is delicious and worth recreating. With the recipe below, you can make it in a slow cooker. Fish stock is the best base for this stew, but you can substitute a mixture of clam juice and vegetable broth. You also can use any combination of fish and seafood you like. Add crushed red pepper for some kick, and don’t forget the crusty bread: You’ll want to sop up all that delicious broth.
Slow-cooker cioppino
6
10 minutes
4 hours and 30 minutes
4 hours and 40 minutes
4 cups fish stock, or 8 ounces clam juice mixed with 3 cups vegetable broth
½ cup white wine
1 (28-ounce) can diced tomatoes
1 (6-ounce) can tomato paste
2 onions, diced
3 celery ribs, diced
4 garlic cloves, minced
2 tablespoons fresh oregano leaves or 2 teaspoons dried oregano
¾ pound white fish (such as cod) fillet, cut into bite-sized pieces
¾ pound peeled and deveined shrimp
½ pound Manila clams, scrubbed
½ pound mussels, scrubbed and de-bearded
½ pound lump crabmeat
2 tablespoons minced fresh parsley, for garnish
In a slow cooker, combine the stock, wine, tomatoes, tomato paste, onions, celery, garlic and oregano. Cover and cook on low for 4 hours.
Add the fish, shrimp, clams and mussels. Cover and continue to cook on low for 30 minutes more, until the shrimp is opaque, the fish is flaky, and the clams and mussels have opened. (Discard any clams or mussels that do not open.) Stir in the crabmeat.
Serve immediately, garnished with parsley.