Cioppino A San Francisco Classic

Cioppino defines the City By The Bay better than sourdough loaves. This Italian classic fish stew  has been identified  for over a century and if done right a great memento of time there. There's something about a blend of tomato sauce married to a variety of seafood all cooked together.

Regular contributor and cookbook author Tejal Rao wrote about this flavorful fish stew in today's New York Times Food section. This delicious dish is considered a cliche because it's  so often associated with San Francisco. May restaurants in the Bay area have fumbled with the recipe , relying on nostalgia and tradition  rather than innovation. This makes for a so-so stew. The dish is so charged with seafood kitsch that one eatery, the Ferry Building Hog Island Oyster Company doesn't even use the word.The dish  was already deemed as worn out by food critic Elizabeth Riely in the Times back in 1988. Another , Michael Bauer, of The San Francisco Chronicle wrote that it was a shadow if itself. However one chef, RoseAnn Grimm, owner of Sotto Mare gives her grandfather's recipe from Amalfi a modern twist. She adds one half cup of Bloody Mary mix and star anise to his recipe to spike it. Some take this spin on Ligurian fish stew, brought with the Ligurian fishermen who settled in the area and add different types of seafood. There is the Lazy Man's version made with canned crab instead of crab legs. 

You can easily make cioppino at home thanks to the recipe from Chef Grimm. Keep in mind that it is labor intensive but it's a great summer meal. The sauce is a classic marinara with the addition of the Bloody Mary mix. The star anise is the first thing toasted until fragrant. The sauce is classic marinara with a mix of   canned tomatoes and sauce along with the usual herbs of basil thyme and oregano.  The fish used are Dungeness crab clusters,, mussels, littleneck clams  and mussels. Use a firm fish like cod along with four large peeled tail on shrimp.  Everything is cooked in a Dutch oven for five minutes. The clams are then added , followed by the mussels . Put the pot's cover back and on let cook for a few minutes. Add the fish when the clams open The dish is always served with slices of toasted ciambatta bread spread with a garlic butter. This is also added to the stew. It's an easy cook of  roasting a big bulbs of Gilroy garlic  drizzled with olive oil and roasted for an hour in a 375 degree oven, Once cooled , discard the skins , mash in a food processor and add butter. The shrimp and more of this butter is added last and steamed . Serve in a deep bowl with a side of the garlic bread.

Cioppino is one of the flavors of San Francisco. Anyone can have this taste and enjoy the rich flavor of seafood and marinara sauce. It is a wonderful marriage of land and sea.