Is it just me or is everyone else ready for fall? Lately, the weather hasn’t been able to get it right, which leaves me in a desperate search for sunshine, but also obsessively looking for a new couch and a few throws I can hibernate with already. So like the weather, I decided to be a little bit of this and a little bit of that, which brings me to this light, yet full of flavor seafood stew also known as cacciucco.
If you’re not familiar with cacciucco (pronounced cah-choo-co), don’t worry, you’re not alone. I stumbled across this dish and recipe while sitting around on an overcast day mindlessly swiping through recipes on my phone. This stew is like the intermission of seasons, the pre-game for the cold season. In this push and pull of changing seasons, I have the seafood that is reminiscent of this short summer and the steaming hot soup that is pulling me into the upcoming days of fall.
Anything with seafood is an instant winner in my book so I knew this was going to be something I had to make now. But what was it and how do I make something I’ve never tried or even heard of? It was time for some research.
As I’m typing away, Google predicted cacciucco vs. cioppino. Ahh, something I am familiar with! Cacciucco is very similar to cioppino; they are both made with seafood and have a tomato based soup. The only big difference I noticed in all my readingwas that cioppino was said to be created in San Francisco while cacciucco is actually from Italy. In Saveur, they describe this dish as using “bottom of the boat” fish. In other words, this stew is made with leftover fish, usually bits and pieces that didn’t sell or weren’t as valuable for a fisherman.
Another exciting thing about this recipe for me is that I dished out an extra few bucks to buy Amore Double-Concentrated Tomato Paste in the tube instead of the usual canned tomato paste. It’s my first time using a double-concentrated tomato paste and it is so bold and flavorful that I may never go back to the canned variety. And it is mucheasier to measure out because it comes in a tube! It’s a game changer.Now, I understand that this stew is made with leftover fish and should essentially be very affordable, but anything with seafood always seems to break the bank! While it might cost you more than what you would typically spend for a homemade meal, this recipe will still save you more money than if you were to go to a restaurant, will probably taste 10 times better and is sure to impress!
Cacciucco (Tuscan Seafood Stew)
prep time: 30 minutes
cook time: 1 hour
serves: 4-5 people
ingredients
- ¼ cup extra virgin olive oil
- 2 tablespoon minced parsley
- 1 tablespoon minced sage leaves
- ½ teaspoon red chili flakes (plus more for garnish)
- 2 tablespoons of minced garlic
- ½ pound calamari (tubes and tentacles)
- 1 ½ tablespoons of tomato paste
- 1 cup (and then some) of dry white wine
- 1 14 ounce can chopped tomatoes with juice
- 1 cup fish stock
- ½ pound catfish (cut in chunks)
- ½ pound cod (cut in chunks)
- ½ pound shrimp
- ½ pound black mussels
- ¼ teaspoon of salt
- ground black pepper
directions
Heat oil in a dutch oven over medium heat and add parsley, sage leaves, garlic and red chili flakes. Cook and stir frequently until fragrant being careful not to burn the garlic! Add the calamari tubes and tentacles and cook until opaque.
Stir in tomato paste and cook for about1 minute. Add one cup of white wine (I use a pinot grigio), plus an extra little splash for good measure. Cook for about 20 minutes or until the liquid has evaporated and the smell of alcohol is no longer there.
Add diced tomatoes and juice to the pot and bring to a simmer for 10 minutes. Add fish stock, salt and a few turns of black pepper and cook for another 10 minutes. Taste your stew at this point and make any adjustments now because after adding the fish, it won’t be easy to stir without breaking the fish into tiny pieces.
Add the cod and catfish pieces and cook covered for 5 minutes. Carefully add shrimp and black mussels and patiently wait for those mussels to open up, should be about 8 to 10 minutes before it’s ready to be devoured!
Recipe motivated from Saveur.
FAQs
It is a bit like cioppino, the fish stew brought to San Francisco by Italian immigrants. However, cacciucco's ingredients are more of a poor fisherman's mix compared to the more expensive ingredients found in cioppino (crab, shrimp, scallops). Of course there are legends surrounding the beginnings of cacciucco.
What is the Italian equivalent of cioppino? ›
The dish also shares its origin with other regional Italian variations of seafood stew similar to cioppin, including cacciucco from Tuscany, brodetto di pesce from Abruzzo and others. Similar dishes can be found in coastal regions throughout the Mediterranean, from Portugal to Greece.
What does cioppino mean in Italian? ›
The word “cioppino” comes from the Ligurian dialect “ciuppin” and means “chopped, torn to pieces”. This unfussy soup was consumed by mariners and port workers in taverns and inns around the Ligurian harbors.
What is the meaning of cacciucco? ›
Cacciucco (Italian: [katˈtʃukko]) is an Italian fish stew native to the western coastal towns of Tuscany. It is especially associated with the port city of Livorno, in Tuscany, and the town of Viareggio north of it. Cacciucco. Type. Fish stew.
What's the difference between cioppino and bouillabaisse? ›
Q: What is the difference between bouillabaisse and cioppino? A: Actually there isn't much difference other than Cioppino is Italian with a tomato-based broth and bouillabaisse is French with a bit of saffron and chopped tomatoes added to a fish broth.
What's the difference between cioppino and cacciucco? ›
It is a bit like cioppino, the fish stew brought to San Francisco by Italian immigrants. However, cacciucco's ingredients are more of a poor fisherman's mix compared to the more expensive ingredients found in cioppino (crab, shrimp, scallops). Of course there are legends surrounding the beginnings of cacciucco.
Do they serve cioppino in Italy? ›
Today, Cioppino is generally made from cooking seafood in a broth and is often served in a crab shell. The name is believed to come from cioppino, a classic Italian soup from Liguria, a region in Italy, that uses less tomato in the broth.
What country invented cioppino? ›
Many dishes were invented in San Francisco and Cioppino is one of them! Here's the story and history of San Francisco Cioppino. Cioppino is a tomato-based seafood stew that was invented by the San Francisco Italian fishermen of North Beach in the late 1800s using whatever seafood was leftover from the day's catch.
What is similar to cioppino? ›
Much like the Italian cioppino, bouillabaisse soup is a French seafood stew that was first developed in the Provençal region of France, in the city of Marseille. Bouillabaisse was originally made with a variety of bony rockfish that were readily harvested off the coast of Marseille.
What is another name for cioppino? ›
What is another word for cioppino?
| fish stew | bouillabaisse |
|---|
| buridda | cacciucco |
| caldeirada | cotriade |
| halaszle | maeuntang |
| moqueca | ukha |
8 more rowsPesce alla griglia (Grilled Fish)
What is the meaning of Bourguignon? ›
ˌbu̇r-gēn-ˈyȯn. or Bourguignon or Bourguignonne. : cooked in red wine and especially Burgundy typically with onions and often mushrooms : burgundy entry 2. My dining partner wisely chose the veal bourguignon. The meat was succulent and tender, with a stunning red wine sauce.
Can you eat leftover cioppino? ›
While I'm currently experimenting with ways to make this a dish I could make for meal prep, the mussels and clams definitely make it a dish that isn't great for leftovers (although if you want to try leftovers, you can toss any leftover mussels/clams and the rest of the seafood will stay for the next day- I tried that ...
What is cioppino in english? ›
Meaning of cioppino in English
an Italian American dish made from fish, seafood (= sea creatures with shells), and tomatoes cooked together in a small amount of wine: Mussels are great in seafood soups or stews, like cioppino or bouillabaisse.
What's the difference between gumbo and cioppino? ›
Cioppino is much thinner than gumbo, a thick, flavorful stew from southern Louisiana thickened with dark roux and okra. The stew is a little like French bouillabaisse but skips the spicy mayonnaise (rouille), saffron, thyme, and dried orange.
What is zuppa in Italian menu? ›
Zuppa (soup)
In addition to vegetables, zuppa never includes rice or pasta. It's only served with croutons, at most. Its name is similar in all European languages and derives from the Gothic suppa, which indicated the slice of bread that was placed in the bowls before pouring the soup.
What is the Italian version of fish sauce? ›
What Is Colatura di Alici? Colatura is essentially the Italian equivalent of Southeast Asian fish sauce, and a relative of the ancient Roman (and darling of the we-can-ferment-that chef world, thanks in large part to the Noma fermentation lab) sauce, garum.
Is cioppino Italian or Portuguese? ›
Cioppino is a San Franciscan Italian immigrant specialty of fish stew made with tomatoes and fresh seafood.
Is it just me or is everyone else ready for fall? Lately, the weather hasn’t been able to get it right, which leaves me in a desperate search for sunshine, but also obsessively looking for a new couch and a few throws I can hibernate with already. So like the weather, I decided to be a little bit of this and a little bit of that, which brings me to this light, yet full of flavor seafood stew also known as cacciucco.
If you’re not familiar with cacciucco (pronounced cah-choo-co), don’t worry, you’re not alone. I stumbled across this dish and recipe while sitting around on an overcast day mindlessly swiping through recipes on my phone. This stew is like the intermission of seasons, the pre-game for the cold season. In this push and pull of changing seasons, I have the seafood that is reminiscent of this short summer and the steaming hot soup that is pulling me into the upcoming days of fall.
As I’m typing away, Google predicted cacciucco vs. cioppino. Ahh, something I am familiar with! Cacciucco is very similar to cioppino; they are both made with seafood and have a tomato based soup. The only big difference I noticed in all my readingwas that cioppino was said to be created in San Francisco while cacciucco is actually from Italy. In Saveur, they describe this dish as using “bottom of the boat” fish. In other words, this stew is made with leftover fish, usually bits and pieces that didn’t sell or weren’t as valuable for a fisherman.
Now, I understand that this stew is made with leftover fish and should essentially be very affordable, but anything with seafood always seems to break the bank! While it might cost you more than what you would typically spend for a homemade meal, this recipe will still save you more money than if you were to go to a restaurant, will probably taste 10 times better and is sure to impress!
