What is "Cioppino"?

Cioppino is a seafood stew, specifically an Italian-American fish stew associated with San Francisco, California. It is usually made with a tomato-and-wine broth packed with assorted seafood.

The dish developed in the late 1800s among Italian and other European immigrant fishermen around San Francisco’s waterfront and North Beach. A traditional story says fishermen contributed whatever seafood they had caught to a communal pot. The name may come from ciuppin, a Ligurian fish soup, although San Francisco cioppino developed its own distinctly Pacific Coast identity.

Recipes commonly include Dungeness crab, clams, shrimp, mussels, squid, scallops, and firm fish. It is often served with toasted sourdough or French bread for dipping into the broth. Cioppino is related to Mediterranean seafood soups such as bouillabaisse, cacciucco, and brodetto, but it is not simply an Italian dish imported unchanged; its recognized form is a San Francisco creation.