This is one of my all-time favorite things to make. I was introduced to the dish at Huggo’s about 15 years ago when I was out in Kona for the Ironman for the first time. Getting cioppino at my favorite restaurant on the island would become an annual tradition with me and my staff. If I’m being honest, we had quite a few traditions involving incredible food and mai tais!
My version is completely different than how they make it at Huggo’s, but they definitely inspired me to make my own style of the classic dish. I have been making it for years in different variations but was recently told by Michelle that this is the best version yet. So here ya go!
Recipe Supplies:
- Garlic (8-10 cloves)
- Yellow onion (1 small)
- Cilantro (1 bushel)
- Basil (10-15 leaves)
- Jalepeno (1)
- Avocado (1, sliced to top off soup)
- Lime (2)
- Corn on the cob (2-3)
- Lobster Tail (if you want to look fancy as fuck!)
- Scallops (cut into small pieces)
- Shrimp (cut into 3rds depending on the size)
- Calamari Steak (cut into small strips)
- White Fish (cut into small pieces)
- Chorizo (1 tube)
- Tomato Paste (1 little can)
- Claim Juice (I bottle)
- White Wine (1/2 cup)
- Chicken Stock (a few big splashes)
- Butter (2-3 tablespoons)
- Heavy Whipping Cream (couple splashes)
- Parm (if need be at the end to thicken the soup a bit)
- Bay Leaf (3)
- Saffron (to taste… and you definitely want to taste it. Just not overpowering)
- EVOO
- Salt & Pepper (to taste)
- Onion & Garlic Powder (to taste)
- Cayenne (to taste)
Chop all the onion, jalapeno, cilantro, basil, and mince your garlic. Also, cut all of your seafood and put it in the frig. If you need to deshell and devein your shrimp, do that as well.
Get your Dutch oven warm and saute your onion in some EVOO and butter for a few minutes. Add the minced garlic and jalapeno and cook for an additional couple of minutes. Once the veggies have softened, add the chorizo and cook it as though you were browning ground beef. Once the chorizo is cooked a bit, add the can of tomato paste and stir everything until it all blends together with the heat. Season this mixture with a bit of salt and pepper.
Add your bottle of clam juice and about 1/2 a cup of pinot grigio to the pot. Stir everything together so the sauce is even throughout. Once it warms up (not to a boil), add all of the seafood, a tablespoon of butter, a few splashes of chicken stock, and three bay leaves. Let everything cook down for about 10-20 minutes on a simmer.
Now add half of your cilantro (the other half is to garnish), basil, and saffron (start with a few big pinches). Stir for a few minutes and give the soup a taste… You are now going to start to season. Add salt, onion/garlic powder, and a dash of cayenne. Add another tablespoon of butter and some cream. Stir and again let cook down for 5 minutes or so.
Do another round of seasoning… you will probably add more saffron at this point (you want to taste it). Also, cut the corn off the cob into the soup, stir, and again give it another 5 minutes so it can all come together. During this time, slice your avocado and cut lime wedges.
Once the five minutes have passed, Microplane in a little parm into it and taste your Cioppino. Season one last time if need be. If you are not using lobster, serve with lime wedges and topped with avocado and cilantro.
If you are gonna add lobster… Cover the soup, put it on very low, while you cook your lobster.
Lobster:
Take your lobster tails and cut them down the middle. I use a sharp chef’s knife to create a channel in the flesh and then take a meat cleaver down that same channel to cut through the shell.
Coat the flesh in EVOO, salt/pepper, and lime juice.
Use a cast iron pan and get it hot! Add some EVOO and butter… when it is sizzling, add the lobster flesh side down to the pan and sear for a few minutes, depending on how big they are. You will want them to look like the picture below.
Tip: I use a smaller cast iron pan to place on top of the lobster while I cook them to ensure that the flesh is always making contact with the bottom pan.
Remove the lobster when finished. The shells will be red, the flesh will have a nice sear where it was touching the pan, and it will have lost the translucent look it had before being cooked.
Plating:
Put your Cioppino in a bowl (I like to use pasta bowls) and give it a squeeze of lime. Top with avocado slices, cilantro, and 1/2 a lobster tail. Sometimes, I add some garlic toast as well.
Enjoy!
