Cioppino is a fish stew derived from the various regional fish soups and stews of Italian cuisine. It was developed by the fishermen who settled in the North Beach section of San Francisco. Originally it was made on the boats while out at sea and later became a staple as Italian restaurants proliferated in San Francisco. The name comes from ciuppin, a word in the Ligurian dialect of the port city of Genoa, which described the local fish stew. At least one restaurant in San Francisco, the eponymous Cioppino's, describes a legend in which the name derived from the heavily Italian-accented cry of the wharf cooks for the fishermen to "chip in" some of their catch to the collective soup pot.

Italian-American cuisine | Stews