Winter White Cioppino with Salty Scallion Oil

I have no idea if the internet is home to any other white Cioppino recipes, it probably is. But I quite like the thought that I might have just invented something … waded into new culinary territory with this here “Winter White Cioppino with Salty Scallion Oil,” so I’m not going to even do the thing where I Google the recipe to see. Yes, I’m going to float along on the notion that I am an inventor.

Anywho. Are you a Cioppino fan? Have you ever tried it? Boy is it something, let me tell you. Man, oh man. If you’re new to the glorious, boisterous, luscious behemoth of a stew that is Cioppino, then I’m am so happy to introduce you, here. I am, however, turning a classic Cioppino on its head a little bit, giving it a wintery vibe and a boost of heartiness that I think is really lovely, and maybe even necessary, this time of year. (For all of us northern hemisphere folks, for whom winter starts today.)

If you’re interested, this is the pan pictured here, and the single pan I use more than any other in my kitchen at this point. It’s super affordable and of great quality. I couldn’t recommend it more!

What is Cioppino

First things first right? Cioppino is a gorgeous seafood stew, with a tomato-based broth, bursting at its seams with fresh fish and shellfish and it always has such a way of impressing – it is the quintessential entertaining recipe for a cold night. It just checks all of the boxes:

1) Easy (it’s a one-pot sort of thing) 

2) Delicious (packed with aromatic veggies and fresh seafood flavors) 

and it’s just special. That’s number three, I suppose. There is something inherently special about a big cauldron of bubbling seafood stew, filled to the brim with a variety of goodness, of specially selected fish and shellfish, harmoniously cooked with some aromatic veggies, stock, and saucy tomatoes that just fills one with comfort. Yes, stews are definitely comfort foods aren’t they? But Cioppino is just cool enough to step into the realm of special-occasion cooking as well, and I love it for that.

The History of Cioppino

Cioppino was created in the late 1800s by Italian immigrant fishermen in San Francisco. Whenever a fisherman came home empty-handed from the day, he’d bring a big pot around to his neighbors and, in the spirit of true generosity and community, everyone would share whatever they could from their own day’s catch, so he could then go and prepare some soup for his family. 

How to Make Cioppino

Not to take this to a slightly off place, but there’s something about Cioppino cookery that always sort of makes me feel like the chef in The Little Mermaid, just tossing delicious little who-zits and what-zits galore into my big pot, one by one. Hee hee hee, haw haw haw. 

I dunno.

Anyway, the recipe is very straightforward and simple to boot. As for the fish you select, there is lots of wiggle room there, and I encourage you to choose things that you like, that are affordable or on sale at your store, and that look good. For the version photographed here, I used shrimp, mussels, and cod. But scallops are lovely as well, and clams. You can use whatever fish you like – I’ve made a salmon Cioppino several times and it’s wonderful. The idea, remember, is to find a delicious home for the seafood that you have (like the Italian fishermen). 

Typically, a true Cioppino broth is built on some sautéed aromatics (onions, fennel, garlic, leeks, etc.) and then grows with the addition of crushed tomatoes, seafood stock, white wine and sometimes Pernod (a licorice liquor that nicely accents fennel), and whatever spices or fresh herbs you like/have on hand.

Recipe Details

In my Winter White Cioppino today, we’re going to do all of those things, but rather than use tomatoes, I’m going to instead, use a store-bought good quality potato-leek soup as my base. This addition creates a velvety, rich-seeming broth and the leeks in the soup go perfectly with the leeks that we’re going to cook.

Plus this time of year, a hearty potato-based dish seems like just the thing. Almost every grocery store carries a version of potato leek soup nowadays, but if you have trouble finding it, simply use a creamy potato soup instead. Or, you can go the traditional rout and use 1 (28-ounce) can of crushed tomatoes. 

The salty scallion oil, in addition to adding a fetching swirl of verdant lovliness to the whole affair, also really rounds out the allium notes in the dish – the onion flavor. We’re using leeks, sweet onions, and scallions in this recipe, all members of the same family … all sporting the onion family crest, essentially. The trick to keep things from actually tasting all ONION! ONION! Onion! Is to truly allow the leeks and onions to almost caramelize in your pot at the beginning. Cook them a while, let them do their thing. They will become sweet and toasty and will lend more depth of flavor to the seafood stock and potato-leek soup, in the end. 

If you’re interested, this is the EXACT pan that I use to make this recipe, and many, many more on this site. It’s very affordable (that’s why I chose it) and it works for just about anything.

If you’re interested in whipping up more soul-satisfying, one-pot soups this winter season, you might like one or both of these, as well:

Magical Two-Ingredient Squash and Caramelized Onion Soup

Roasted Garlic Slow Cooker Italian Wedding Soup

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