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Fisherman's Stew

Fisherman's Stew, or Cioppino

Fisherman's Stew or Cioppino is a tomato-based seafood stew that was invented by the San Francisco Italian fishermen of North Beach in the late 1800s using whatever seafood was left over from the day’s catch. Often times it was a crab, shrimp, clams, and fish, which were then combined with onions, garlic, and tomatoes, and then everything was cooked with herbs in olive oil and wine. Originally it was made on the boats while out at sea and in homes, but as Italian restaurants started sprouting up around the wharf, cioppino became a very popular dish at local restaurants.
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Servings: 4 servings
Course: dinner, Lunch, Main Course
Cuisine: Italian
Ingredients Method Notes

Ingredients
  

  • olive oil
  • 1 1/2 cups yellow onion, diced
  • 1 tsp minced garlic (about 3)
  • 1 tsp whole fried fennel seeds
  • 1/2 tsp crushed red pepper flakes
  • 1 28 oz can crushed tomatoes, such as San Marzano
  • 1 1/2 cups dry white wine
  • 4 cups stock (https://the2spoons.com/?p=4342)
  • 1 1/2 cod fillets, skin removed, 2 inch diced
  • 1 lb sea scallops, halved crosswise
  • 24 mussels, scrubbed (see recipe note)
  • 3 tbsp minced fresh Parsley
  • garlic Toast or loaf of french bread for serving

Method
 

  1. Heat 1/4 cup olive oil in a large heavy pot or dutch oven over medium heat.  Add the onions and saute for 10 minutes until tender.  Stir in the garlic, fennel seeds, and red pepper flakes and cook for 2 minutes until fragrant.  Add the tomatoes, stock, wine, salt, and pepper to taste.  Bring to a boil, lower the heat and simmer uncovered 30 minutes.  
  2. Add the cod first, the mussels.  Do not stir.  Bring to a simmer, lower the heat, cover and cook for about 4 minutes.  At this time add the scallops and cover again and cook an additional 4 minutes.  Turn off the heat, cover and set aside for 3 minutes for the flavors to blend.  Discard any mussels that have not opened.  Ladle into large shallow bowls, sprinkle with parsley and serve with garlic bread or just a loaf of french bread for sopping the juices.    

Notes

Scrub mussels with a wire brush, removing the little beard that is on some, soak in water for a few minutes to remove any sand, then  drain.