“If it doesn’t splatter on your shirt, you’re not doing it right.” –Nonna Rose Alioto, who opened the first Alioto’s restaurant on Fisherman’s Wharf in San Francisco in 1938, speaking of Cioppino. Widowed as a middle-aged woman, she raised her children to adulthood with her old world cooking skills.
When I was a little girl, I often accompanied my mother and grandmother to Fisherman’s Wharf in San Francisco, a lunch stop on their rainy day shopping adventures, where fishmongers boiled great black cauldrons full of the Pacific Ocean’s iconic king crab, huge beasts with flailing legs tossed in to cook for waiting customers. I stood, transfixed, as the steaming creatures, shells turned bright orange-red, lay on a table to cool before they were wrapped in butcher paper for the trip across the bridge to our home.
Crab and shrimp from the wharf often meant we’d have Cioppino that night for supper, a fantastic dish of peasant origin, redolent with lots of fresh garlic, red or white wine, olive oil and tomatoes, served with crusty Sourdough or Italian bread to sop up the heavenly juices of this traditional California/Italian seafood stew.
Cioppino is a tomato-based seafood stew invented by San Francisco Italian fishermen of North Beach in the late 1800s, many of them originally from the port city of Genoa, using whatever seafood was left over from the day’s catch. Oftentimes, it was crab, shrimp, clams, fish and an occasional squid or young octopus swept up from the sea with fish intended for market, today called “bycatch,” but always full of promise for a hearty meal. Once cleaned, the seafood was then combined with onions, garlic and tomatoes, everything simmered with olive oil and (always) wine.
Originally, Ciopinno was made on the boats while out at sea and in homes, but Italian eateries started sprouting up in San Francisco, or “Frisco,” as my elders called it.
Ciopinno is a fabulously messy dish in which one becomes immersed in the experience of eating it, as the seafood is often served in the shell, requiring a crab fork, cracker, a generous bib to prevent food stains on clothing, damp napkins and a second bowl for the shells.
The restaurant that credits itself with bringing Ciopinno to the dining public is Alioto’s. In 1925, Nunzio Alioto, an Italian immigrant, set up a stall on Fisherman’s Wharf to sell lunch to laborers. His business grew, and by 1932, he constructed the first building at the corner of Taylor and Jefferson streets, by combining his fish stand with a seafood bar specializing in shrimp cocktails and steamed crab. Sadly, Nunzio passed away unexpectedly and his widow, Rose, and her three children began running the stand. Rose became the first woman to work on the wharf. By 1938, she officially opened Alioto’s Restaurant, still a landmark on the wharf.
Cioppino is a real crowd pleaser and can be prepared ahead of time and finished just 15 minutes before serving with grilled or toasted bread and a favorite bottle of wine.
Cioppino
- ¼ cup olive oil
- 1 large onion, chopped
- 4 garlic cloves, minced
- 2 ½ teaspoons fresh thyme
- 2 teaspoons dried oregano
- ½ teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
- 1 dried bay leaf
- 1 ¼ cups wine
- 1 ¼ cups water
- 1 28-ounce can of whole, peeled tomatoes, crushed, with juice
- 1 cup clam juice
- ¼ cup tomato paste
- 2 pounds shell on crab meat
- 24 clams, scrubbed well
- 1 pound white fish fillets, such as cod or sea bass
- 1 ¼ pounds large shrimp, peeled and deveined
- ½ cup coarsely chopped Italian flat leafed parsley
- Fresh lemon slices
Heat olive oil in a large stock pot over medium heat and heat onion and garlic for 3-4 minutes.
Stir in thyme, oregano, red pepper flakes and bay leaf.
Add crushed tomatoes and their juice, tomato paste, wine, water and clam juice, bring to a simmer.
Add crab and clams, simmer, uncovered, until crab shells turn bright pink and clams pop open, about 10 minutes. Season fish with salt and pepper. Add fish and shrimp to the pot, simmer, uncovered, until fish is opaque and shrimp are pink, just 2-3 minutes. Discard the bay leaf and any unopened clams.
Remove pot from heat, stir in parsley, season with salt and pepper. Serve with grilled or toasted bread, lemon slices and additional pepper flakes.
About the Writer:
Rebecca Jackson is a veteran newspaper person/journalist based in Bedford County, VA. A native of California and an M.A. graduate of Arizona State University, she has a passion for pets (animals), good food/cooking, music, wine, horticulture, photography and travel.
