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Phil DiGirolamo’s Famous Cioppino

Recipe information

  • Yield

    serves 4 to 6

Ingredients

1

tablespoon olive oil

1

tablespoon unsalted butter

1

clove garlic, chopped

1

pound littleneck clams

1

/4 cup dry white wine

8

ounces mussels, scrubbed

2

quarts Cioppino Sauce (recipe follows)

2

dashes Worcestershire sauce

Pinch of saffron threads

8

ounces medium shrimp in the shell

8

ounces cleaned squid tubes, cut into rings

8

ounces firm-fleshed white fish fillets, cut into 2-inch cubes

4

ounces bay scallops

1

pound lump crabmeat, preferably Dungeness

Cioppino Sauce

1

/2 cup olive oil

2

medium onions, halved and thinly sliced

6

cloves garlic, chopped

3

bay leaves

1

/2 cup chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley leaves

1

/4 cup chopped fresh basil leaves

1

(28-ounce) can peeled tomatoes with juice, crushed by hand

1

(28-ounce) can tomato puree

1

tablespoon clam base without MSG (optional)

1

tablespoon brown sugar

1

tablespoon celery salt

Dash of Worcestershire sauce

Dash of ground cinnamon

Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

Red pepper flakes

Need to make a substitution?

Preparation

  1. Step 1

    Combine the olive oil, butter, and garlic in a wide, deep pot over medium heat. Cook, stirring, until the garlic is fragrant but not browned, 2 minutes. Add the clams and wine, cover, increase the heat to medium-high, and steam until the clams start to open, about 5 minutes. Add the mussels, cover, and steam until the mussels just start to open, about 2 minutes. (Discard any clams or mussels that do not open.)

    Step 2

    Stir in the Cioppino Sauce, Worcestershire, and saffron, and bring to a simmer. Add the shrimp and simmer for about 5 minutes. Then gently stir in the squid, fish, and scallops, and simmer until they are all just cooked through, about 5 minutes. Gently stir in the crabmeat during the last minute or so of cooking time.

  2. Cioppino Sauce

    Step 3

    Heat the olive oil in a large saucepan over medium heat. Add the onions and sauté until soft, about 5 minutes. Add the garlic, bay leaves, parsley, and basil, and cook for 1 minute; do not brown.

    Step 4

    Stir in the crushed tomatoes, tomato puree, 3 1/2 cups water, the clam base (if using), brown sugar, celery salt, Worcestershire, and cinnamon. Season with salt, black pepper, and red pepper flakes to taste. Bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to medium-low, and simmer, stirring occasionally, until thickened, 1 1/4 hours.Remove the bay leaves before serving.

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