This wonderful Italian fish stew is actually from the US. It's a credit to Italian cooking traditions.

This stew is based on the common Italian Zuppa di Pesca or "Soup of Seafood". This stew is cooked as specialties all along the coasts of Italy.

In San Francisco's fishermen and their families have been Italian, and Portuguese, for generations, and Cioppino is derived from the old fishing and cooking traditions of Italian immigrants.

• 3 Cups tomato juice
• 1 onion, chopped
• 2 stalks celery, sliced thin
• 2 cloves garlic, chopped
• 1 tsp rosemary
• 1 tsp marjoram
• 1 tsp oregano
• ½ pound fresh fish (flounder, haddock, perch), boned and cut into 1" pieces
• ½ cup red wine
• 6 Clams in the shell, scrubbed clean
• 1 pound shrimp, in the shell
• 2 Tbs Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese, freshly grated
• 6 parsley sprigs, chopped
• 8 lemon wedges

• Directions

  1. Place tomato juice in a pot and bring to a simmer.
  2. Add onion, celery, rosemary, marjoram, oregano, garlic, and fish to the pot and simmer, covered, for an hour to thicken broth.
  3. Add the wine, shrimp, and clams and heat to a boil. Reduce to a simmer and cook until the shrimp just turn pink.
  4. Serve in heated bowls, topped with cheese, a wedge of lemon, and parsley.