Cioppino
Updated June 3, 2024
- Total Time
- 2½ hours
- Rating
- Notes
- Read community notes
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Ingredients
Yield:3 to 4 servings
- ¼cup whole star anise
- 1small yellow onion, diced
- 1large garlic head, cloves separated and peeled
- ½small red bell pepper, coarsely chopped
- ¼cup olive oil
- ½cup Bloody Mary mix
- 1(29-ounce) can diced tomatoes
- 1(29-ounce) can tomato sauce
- 3tablespoons dried oregano
- 1tablespoon dried basil
- 1tablespoon dried thyme
- 2teaspoons granulated sugar
- 1dried bay leaf
- 4whole garlic heads (about 11 ounces)
- 2tablespoons olive oil
- 1cup/8 ounces salted butter, softened
- 1baguette or ciabatta loaf, split horizontally
- Kosher salt and freshly ground pepper
- Dried oregano, for sprinkling
- ¾cup finely grated Parmesan
- 2cups clam juice
- 6fresh thyme sprigs
- 1teaspoon red-pepper flakes
- Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
- 1½pounds Dungeness crab clusters (5 legs and 2 claws with bodies attached)
- 12littleneck clams (about 1 pound), cleaned
- 12mussels (about ½ pound), cleaned
- 2cod fillets (about 4 ounces each)
- 4large peeled, tail-on shrimp (about ⅓ pound)
- Finely chopped flat-leaf parsley, for garnish
For the Marinara Base
For the Roasted Garlic Butter
For the Garlic Bread
For the Cioppino
Preparation
- Step 1
Toast the star anise by stirring frequently in a small skillet over medium heat until fragrant, about 3 minutes. Set aside.
- Step 2
Make the marinara base: Add the onion, garlic cloves, bell pepper and olive oil to a food processor and pulse until finely chopped. (Or, finely chop the vegetables by hand, then add to the pot along with the oil.) Add the mixture to a large pot and cook over medium, stirring occasionally, until soft, translucent and light golden in places, about 5 minutes. Add the Bloody Mary mix, canned tomatoes and juices and tomato sauce. Get every last drop from the cans by swirling a splash of water into each one and tipping the remnants into the pot. Add the toasted star anise, oregano, basil, thyme, sugar and bay leaf, and stir to combine. Bring to a boil over medium-high, then reduce the heat to medium-low and simmer gently, uncovered, for 1 hour, stirring often so the bottom of the pot doesn’t burn. (Makes 7½ cups; see Tip.)
- Step 3
While sauce simmers, roast the garlic: Heat oven to 375 degrees. Slice the whole garlic heads in half crosswise. Divide garlic, cut-sides up, between two pieces of aluminum foil, large enough to wrap the garlic up like two presents. Drizzle with olive oil, then wrap tightly. Set the foil packets on a baking sheet and roast for 1 hour, until the garlic is light brown and tender all the way through.
- Step 4
Make the garlic butter: Once cool enough to handle, squeeze the garlic cloves out, discarding the skins. (You should have about 1 cup of roasted garlic.) Add to a food processor along with the softened butter and pulse until smooth and creamy. Or, smash the garlic to a paste and mix with the softened butter. (Makes 1½ cups; see Tip.)
- Step 5
Make the garlic bread: Heat oven to 400 degrees. Spread ½ cup garlic butter on the cut sides of bread and season with salt and pepper. Set the bread, buttered-sides up on a foil-lined baking sheet and bake until toasted and golden in spots, about 15 minutes. As soon as the garlic bread comes out of the oven, sprinkle it with dried oregano and the Parmesan. Cut into large pieces, then wrap the foil from the baking sheet around them to keep warm.
- Step 6
While the bread bakes, make the cioppino: In a large Dutch oven or wide, heavy pot, add 4 cups of the marinara sauce, plus the clam juice, thyme sprigs and red-pepper flakes. Season generously with salt and pepper and heat over medium-high until simmering, about 5 minutes.
- Step 7
Separate the legs and claws from the crab bodies. Once the sauce is simmering, gradually add the seafood, starting with the crab bodies. Cook for a couple minutes, then add the crab legs and claws to the pot and cook, stirring occasionally, for about 5 minutes.
- Step 8
Add the clams, nestling them into the sauce around the edges, like numbers on a clock, cover with a lid and cook for about 6 minutes. Give the mixture a stir then add the mussels, in the same fashion as the clams. Cover and cook for another 3 minutes. Once the clams start to open, add the fish, gently nestling it into the sauce, and set the shrimp right on top to let them steam gently. Add 2 tablespoons of the garlic butter, put the lid back on and simmer until the fish cooks through and the shrimp get plump, about 5 minutes.
- Step 9
To serve, transfer the cioppino to a deep serving bowl, being careful not to break up the delicate cooked fish. Perch the crab legs and claws on top and sprinkle with parsley. Serve with warm garlic bread on the side.
Tip
- This recipe makes 3½ cups extra marinara sauce, which means you can get a second meal out of it. Fish out the star anise and try shrimp alla marinara, cheesy bread with marinara or a simple spaghetti marinara. Or, make cioppino for a larger crowd, in a larger pot, using the whole marinara yield and doubling the clam juice and seafood. The recipe also makes extra roasted garlic butter — a gift! Spread it on a bagel, drizzle it over wilted greens, use it to dress some hot spaghetti and peas, or drop a spoonful into a bowl of soup.
Private Notes
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Cooking Notes
todd sf
As a devoted customer of Anchor since it opened in the late 70s, I can attest this is the recipe you’ll want for making your own Cioppino. It is rich, satisfying, and impossible to stop eating………
Mary W.
As a Bay Area native, Sicilian-American, & great-granddaughter of a wharf owner, I agree Cioppino is a dish for riffs. I have fond memories of my uncles debating what should go into Cioppino. I’ll make a few observations: 1. The base can be made hours before it’s needed, which allows it to mellow and taste even better. 2. Slice calamari/squid tubes into noodles or rings & add at the last 45 seconds of preparation. They will be tender & delicious, not the rubbery filler of tourist traps.
joe
Living in the northeast, any thoughts on substitutions for the crab?
Jim Ball
I add dry white vermouth. To my taste, the best Bay Area Cioppino's always have dry white vermouth. But that's just my taste.
Steve Whiteman
As a native born San Franciscan I totally approve this recipe. The only thing I’d add is a large pinch of saffron.
JonCanadian
I made this and it's really quite good. Some suggestions: -when making the garlic, onion and pepper "roux", add some salt (say 1/2 teaspoon) to the mix. This helps the mixture brown. And don't think about time, keep smelling it as it cooks. You want the rawness of the garlic to disappear. -Add the herbs and Bay leaf to the "roux" before you add the the tomato. The heat pulls out the herb flavour. -don't buy Bloody Mary mix. Just add some water and Worchestire Sauce and Tabasco to taste
B. Miller
Pay very close attention to cook the fish properly. Many a dish of cioppino is ruined if any element is overcooked. While this recipe gives specific timing to adding the seafood, the timing varies with the size and freshness of the ingredients. Remember that the broth continues to cook the fish between the pot and the table. Five minutes for the shrimp seems too long.
Brad F.
I cannot believe you got Anchor to give up their recipe!! I have been trying to get this for the last 13 years ever since the first time I went there, and it is hands down, the best cioppino in all of San Francisco. My subscription to NYT Cooking has just seriously paid off.
Beth
Almost exactly seven years ago I had dinner at the Anchor Bar and never before or since have I eaten a more delicious seafood stew. It was my last night in the city after living there for a 6 month job assignment. It was a magical evening. I’m so looking forward to making this recipe. Thanks for this!
Mary W.
As a Bay Area native & Sicilian-American but now a transplant to the Northeast, I have used Maryland crab & find it sweeter & more delicate. I compensate by using fish or seafood stock in place of clam juice. FWIW, I start by sautéing chopped onions, then add diced red peppers, then add garlic to taste. I then add about a cup of Zinfandel, boil off the alcohol taste, and then proceed with diced tomatoes, tomato sauce, paste, etc. Cioppino is at its essence a “cook with what you’ve got” dish.
SusanW
Try the NYTimes recipe: Bloody Mary Mix
Golem18
Having had both Dungeness crab and Maryland Blue Crab, I can attest that they are different. But so what? The origin of this dish was to use the seafood at hand so living on the East Coast nothing compares to Maryland Blue Crab in season. If I were in Main or Massachusetts, I'd probably go for the lobster as suggested below. To paraphrase Donald Rumsfeld on war: you go to a dish with the ingredients you have on hand, not with the ingredients you wish you had.
Tricia
Ah, I love the different ways people like to cook and eat seafood stews and share their thoughts. Adding saffron and vermouth shouldn't be criticized; it just means you are moving a bit north towards Marseille. Not such a bad thing, but maybe not classic or Anchor cioppino. If any of you make your cioppino any of these ways, I will happily come to your table.
Hildari
What do you do with the toasted whole star anise after the sauce is done?
In Marin
OMG, a cioppino recipe from Anchor Oyster Bar? I am all in and hope I can located some good Dungeness crab. This recipe is work a trip to Monterey Fish Market in Berkeley to source the ingredients. Love the suggestion from Mary W to add calamari rings. Serve with pasta? Thank goodness I live in the Bay Area, it's San Francisco sourdough or nothing with this seafood stew!
seattle steve
Should probably make a half recipe next time. it makes A LOT. And maybe put the star anise in a cheesecloth pouch. It isn't good to bite down on one. AND, pulse the vegetables, don't puree accidently like I did. The texture they add is great.
Ann
What can I use instead of Bloody Mary mix? I am allergic to celery? Thanks.
Lynne
Welp. I wish I’d read through the comments before i made this one. So … 3 Tbs of Oregano - I’d leave it out completely. Same with the dried Basil. I’d use only fresh thyme. I think a little tarragon would have been nice. The star anise added a nice note, but 1/4 c was overbearing. I’d add one or two stars in a cheesecloth. My husband loved this though, so either my tastebuds are off or he’s super nice.
Alexis
This is one of those perfect recipes. We’ve had it for Christmas a few times. Added benefit is that half the marinara can be saved, frozen for another dinner. When I defrost it for my second dinner party, all I have to do is add a few ingredients and voila, a restaurant worthy dinner is made.
cattails
Hearty, delicious, and not nearly as much work as made out to be. The base ingredients are simple and require little active prep (especially if you have a food processor). Most of it can be done concurrently (roasting the garlic and making the marinara, baking bread and cooking the fish). If you've never cooked seafood before, I find a good rule of thumb is "less time than you think". Something like this can be easily popped back on for another minute to get to desired done-ness.
Becky B
Had never made Cioppino but love it. This was wonderful. Sauce better than most restaurants.Added a fennel bulb to the base ingredients and an extra large can of tomato puree since serving more people on Christmas Eve. Wanted Seven Fishes so added Calamari tubes and tentacles and bay scallops. And a cup of white wine in addition to the clam juice. Was soooooo good and plenty of leftovers that we were glad to have.
sharon
Fabulous. Messed around with the fish added. It was great
Betsy
After reading reviews, I used more of Bloody Mary mix. I substituted home made shrimp stock for clam juice. I also cooked crab for 3 min and removed from marinara. Then I cooked salmon, scallops, and cod for 3 min and removed. Lastly shrimp cooked for 2 min. All done perfectly- so delicious
JC Shep
This recipe takes a lot of work and is very finicky (for those of us seafood novices). Be very attentive to not overcooking the various seafood additions at the end. Your hours of work can result in serving flavorful rubber.
Lisa l
Half oregano Add thyme Plus dash of mace and allspice instead of star anise
Pauline
I’m going to make this (still assembling the ingredients) but I can’t get over the “this makes 3-1/2 more cups than needed” part. Why am I making almost double the sauce? I see the extra sauce can be used for additional meals and that’s nice but I’m confused by a recipe that intentionally makes almost twice as much as needed…?
pamela
frozen fish stock from hank shaw recipe makes this dish absolute mind blowing. I follow his directions for a light flavorful stock from either halibut or striper, whatever my husband catches! freezes for a year.
hmm
Tasty but probably better w fennel than star anise—-too much star anise!
laura
Great recipe , have made it twice now and only tweaked a little bit . I added chopped fresh fennel to the soffrito , less Bloody Mary mix and pretty much everything else true to the recipe. The garlic butter is essential as is the bread . This is a keeper, thank u NYT , our guests were blown away .
Markthorfreeman
Great recipe. I used live crab, so pre cooked, then added at the end. Live mussels, live clams, as intended. I would recommend a boquet garni type sack for some of the herbs (specifically the star anise).
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