Recipe: Tadich Grill San Francisco-Style Cioppino

TADICH GRILL SAN FRANCISCO-STYLE CIOPPINO

"Here is The City's most famous dish, invented by the North Beach Italian fishermen's wives. When they sold their haul on the wharf, of course they took home all the extras. Mama had her rich pot of tomato sauce cooking low on the stove and in went the day's catch. Voila! A classic [and the first part of cioppino is pronounced as CHA...] Tadich Grill is one of our oldest, most cherished restaurants around."

1/2 cup olive oil, divided
1 small onion, chopped
1 medium carrot, finely chopped
1/2 medium green bell pepper, chopped
1 small leek, white part only, chopped
1 small rib celery, chopped
1 Tbsp. fresh fennel, chopped
1 (28 oz.) can crushed tomatoes with puree
1 Tbsp. tomato paste
2 cups water
1 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. ground pepper
1 tsp. fresh basil, minced
1/2 tsp. fresh oregano, minced
1/4 tsp. fresh thyme, minced
4 bay leaves
1 dash cayenne pepper
1 tsp. garlic, finely chopped
1 lb. white fish, cut into 1/2 x 2-inch strips
8 large shrimp, shelled and deveined
8 large scallops
3/4 cup Sauvignon Blanc Wine
8 small clams in shell, scrubbed
4 oz. cooked shrimp meat
6 oz. cooked crab meat
Italian parsley, chopped

Heat 1/4 cup olive oil in Dutch oven or large heavy pan over medium heat. Add onions and saut 1 minute without browning. Add carrot, green pepper, leek, celery and fennel and saut 5 minutes.

Stir in crushed tomatoes, tomato paste, water, salt, pepper, basil, oregano, thyme, bay leaves and cayenne pepper. Partially cover and simmer over low heat 2 hours, stirring occasionally. (Sauce can be covered and kept warm over low heat for several hours longer. Stir occasionally.) Remove bay leaves.

Heat remaining 1/4 cup oil in a large skillet over high heat. Add garlic and cook 5 seconds. Immediately add fish, shrimp and scallops. Saut until just cook through, 2-4 minutes. Add seafood to sauce and stir gently.

Pour wine into skillet and cook 30 seconds over medium heat, stirring up any loose bits. Add clams to skillet. Cover and cook until clams open, 2-6 minutes. Transfer clams as they open to sauce. Discard any that do not open. Gently stir shrimp and crab meat into sauce. Cover and cook cioppino until all seafood is hot, 2-3 minutes longer.

Ladle cioppino into large casserole or soup tureen or directly into shallow soup plates. Garnish with chopped Italian Parsley.

Yield: 4 Servings
Source: Tadich Grill, San Francisco CA

Editor's note:
Sample recipes from the Tadich Grill cookbook: Tadich Grill: The History of San Francisco's Oldest Restaurant, with Recipes

1. Boston or New England Clam Chowder

2. Fillet of Sole All'Agro

3. Boeuf Bourguignonne a la Tadich