Tadich Grill Cioppino for Two

By
Janet A. Zimmerman
Janet A. Zimmerman
An award-winning food writer, cooking instructor, and author of five cookbooks. She focuses on dinners for two and date night cuisine.
Learn about The Spruce Eats' Editorial Process
Updated on 11/23/21
Tadich Grill Cioppino for Two

The Spruce / Ali Redmond

Prep: 30 mins
Cook: 2 hrs 25 mins
Total: 2 hrs 55 mins
Servings: 2 servings
Nutrition Facts (per serving)
1757 Calories
71g Fat
54g Carbs
196g Protein
Show Full Nutrition Label Hide Full Nutrition Label
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Nutrition Facts
Servings: 2
Amount per serving
Calories 1757
% Daily Value*
Total Fat 71g 91%
Saturated Fat 16g 81%
Cholesterol 1003mg 334%
Sodium 5453mg 237%
Total Carbohydrate 54g 20%
Dietary Fiber 7g 24%
Total Sugars 11g
Protein 196g
Vitamin C 87mg 437%
Calcium 586mg 45%
Iron 30mg 169%
Potassium 2989mg 64%
*The % Daily Value (DV) tells you how much a nutrient in a food serving contributes to a daily diet. 2,000 calories a day is used for general nutrition advice.
(Nutrition information is calculated using an ingredient database and should be considered an estimate.)

We first had cioppino at San Francisco's Tadich Grill (on whose recipe mine is based). It was a huge bowl filled with fish and shellfish. A San Francisco Italian specialty, cioppino was originally a humble soup made with fish scraps, but it's turned into a more spectacular dish, with shrimp, mussels, clams and Dungeness crab in addition to white fish.

If you feel like splurging, use a little of each, with scallops as a final touch. The soup is great with any combination you like. While the soup base does take some time to make, much of that is just simmering. It can be made ahead and refrigerated or frozen—just wait to add the fish.

Ingredients

  • 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil

  • 2 tablespoons unsalted butter

  • 1/2 cup onion, chopped

  • 1/4 cup carrot, peeled, trimmed, and chopped

  • 1/4 cup celery, chopped

  • 1/2 cup fennel bulb, trimmed and chopped

  • 1 clove garlic, minced or pressed

  • 1 tablespoon tomato paste

  • 1/2 cup dry white wine

  • 1 (14-ounce) can diced tomatoes

  • 1 cup seafood stock, or water

  • 1 bay leaf

  • 1/4 teaspoon dried oregano

  • 1/4 teaspoon dried thyme

  • 1/4 teaspoon dried basil

  • 2 pinches cayenne pepper

  • Kosher salt, to taste

  • Freshly ground black pepper, to taste

  • 2 tablespoons licorice liqueur, such as Herbsaint, Pernod, or Pastis

  • 4 to 6 ounces grouper, or other firm white fish such as cod, halibut, or snapper

  • 24 ounces shellfish, such as peeled medium shrimp or shelled crabmeat

  • 6 to 8 mussels, or small clams

  • 1 to 2 tablespoons fennel fronds, chopped, or parsley, or a combination, for garnish

  • 2 large sea scallops, optional

  • 2 to 3 tablespoons vegetable oil

Steps to Make It

  1. Gather the ingredients.

    Tadich Grill Cioppino for Two ingredients

    The Spruce / Ali Redmond

  2. In a heavy medium-sized soup pot or saucepan, heat the olive oil and butter. When the butter stops foaming, add the onion, carrot, celery, and fennel. Sprinkle with salt. Stir and cook for 5 or 6 minutes, until vegetables have begun to soften and brown a little. Add the garlic and stir it in, cooking for another minute or so.

    add the onion, carrot, celery, and fennel to a pot

    The Spruce / Ali Redmond

  3. Add the tomato paste and stir, using the back of the spoon to break the paste apart and coat the vegetables as much as possible. Cook for a few minutes, until the tomato paste begins to darken slightly.

    add tomato paste to the vegetables in the pot

    The Spruce / Ali Redmond

  4. Add the wine and stir, scraping up any browned bits from the bottom of the pot. Bring to a boil and cook until most of the wine has evaporated.

    add wine to vegetable mixture in the pot

    The Spruce / Ali Redmond

  5. Add the tomatoes (with liquid), stock or water, herbs (bay leaf, oregano, thyme, basil), and cayenne. Stir and taste for seasoning, adding salt and black pepper if necessary. Add the licorice liqueur, reduce heat, and simmer soup for at least an hour. (The soup base can be made ahead to this point and refrigerated or frozen.)

    Add the tomatoes (with liquid), stock or water, herbs (bay leaf, oregano, thyme, basil), and cayenne to the pot

    The Spruce / Ali Redmond

  6. About 15 minutes before serving, bring the soup back to a simmer (if necessary).

    tomato mixture cooking in a pot

    The Spruce / Ali Redmond

  7. Cut the fish into chunks about 2 inches by 1 inch. Scrub the mussels or clams.

    add fish into pieces and clean the mussels

    The Spruce / Ali Redmond

  8. Turn the heat up to medium-high. Add the mussels or clams and cover the pot. Cook for about 5 minutes, or until the shells open.

    Add the mussels to the mixture in the pot

    The Spruce / Ali Redmond

  9. If using the optional scallops, sprinkle with salt. Just before adding the clams or mussels to the pot, heat a small skillet over medium-high heat. Pour in enough oil to form a thick coat of oil on the bottom. Just when the oil begins to smoke, turn down the heat slightly and add the scallops. As the mussels or clams steam, cook the scallops for 2 to 3 minutes, until deep golden brown. Turn them over and cook the other side for a couple of minutes. Remove to a small plate.

    cook the scallops in the skillet

    The Spruce / Ali Redmond

  10. Turn the heat back down on the soup pot to a simmer and add the fish. Cook for 1 minute, and then add the shrimp and crab. Cook for 2 minutes or just until shrimp are done, and crab is warmed through.

    simmer the soup in the pot

    The Spruce / Ali Redmond

  11. When the soup is ready, place a scallop in the center of each large soup bowl (if using scallops). Ladle the soup into the large soup bowls. Sprinkle with parsley or fennel fronds.

    pour the Tadich Grill Cioppino into a bowl

    The Spruce / Ali Redmond