Scallop and Fennel Cioppino
A brothy San Francisco-style tomato stew simmered with sliced fennel, onion, garlic, and oregano, brightened with basil and parsley, and finished with sweet golden-seared scallops.
Why You'll Love This Recipe
A seafood stew, generous rather than heavy, for a dinner that feels special without much effort. It leans on a handful of pantry staples and one nice ingredient, the scallops, so it is easy to pull together on a weeknight yet elegant enough for company. The base is naturally free of grains and heavy starch, and it is built almost entirely around vegetables, tomatoes, and sweet seafood, which keeps it fresh and bright-tasting.
The pot gets built up slowly, in order. Cooking the fennel, onion and garlic slowly until soft draws out their sweetness and mellows the sharp raw edges, while blooming the tomato paste in the hot oil concentrates its flavor and deepens the color of the broth. Searing the scallops separately gives them a golden, caramelized crust for flavor and texture, then adding them back only at the very end keeps them tender rather than tough. Scallops go from silky to bouncy in seconds when overcooked, so the brief warm-through is the whole trick.
A warm, fragrant tomato broth against sweet, meaty scallops, with the anise note of fennel and a whisper of cayenne keeping every spoonful interesting. It is high in protein and rich in fiber from the fennel, onion and tomatoes, so it feels like a real meal that leaves you full without weighing you down. The fresh basil and parsley stirred in at the end lift the whole bowl and make it taste bright and alive.
Ingredients
- 520 g cooked scallops
- 2 cups crushed tomatoes
- 1 fennel bulb, thinly sliced
- 1 onion, diced
- 4 cloves garlic, minced
- 2 tbsp tomato paste
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- 4 tbsp fresh basil, torn
- 3 tbsp parsley, chopped
- 1 tsp dried oregano
- 1/2 tsp cayenne
Instructions
- Sear the scallops: Pat the scallops very dry with paper towels so they brown instead of steam. Warm some of the olive oil in a wide, heavy pot over medium-high heat until it shimmers. Lay the scallops in a single layer without crowding and sear undisturbed until a golden crust forms and they release easily, about 1 to 2 minutes per side; they should be just opaque with a browned surface. Transfer to a plate and set aside. They finish cooking later, so do not cook them through now.
- Soften the aromatics: Trim the stalks from the fennel bulb, halve it, cut out the core, and slice it thinly. Dice the onion and mince the garlic. Warm the remaining olive oil in the same pot over medium heat, add the fennel, onion and garlic along with the dried oregano and cayenne, and cook, stirring now and then, until the vegetables are soft, glossy and translucent, about 8 minutes.
- Bloom the tomato paste: Stir in the tomato paste and cook for about 1 minute, stirring constantly, until it darkens slightly and smells sweet and concentrated rather than raw.
- Build the broth: Pour in the crushed tomatoes, then add water until the pot loosens into a brothy stew. Bring to a gentle simmer and cook uncovered, stirring occasionally, until the fennel is fully tender and the flavors have melded, about 12 minutes.
- Warm the scallops through: Slip the seared scallops and any juices from the plate back into the pot. Keep the heat at a bare simmer and warm them through for about 3 minutes, just until hot; do not let it boil hard, or the scallops will turn rubbery.
- Finish and serve: Tear the fresh basil and roughly chop the parsley. Taste the stew and season it if it needs it, then stir in the basil and parsley just before serving so they stay bright and fragrant. Ladle into warm bowls.
Variations
- Add shellfish: Scrub some mussels or clams in the shell and settle them into the simmering broth, covered, until they open before adding the scallops; this adds more seafood and gives the broth a briny depth.
- White wine base: After blooming the tomato paste, pour in a splash of dry white wine and let it reduce for a minute before adding the tomatoes; this adds alcohol, which takes it off Whole30, along with a touch of acidity to the broth.
- Smoky and deep: Swap the crushed tomatoes for fire-roasted crushed tomatoes for a subtle charred, smoky note that plays well with the sweet scallops.
- Creamy finish: Swirl a spoonful of cream into the finished broth off the heat for a softer, rounder stew; note that this adds dairy.
- Rustic bread bowl: Serve each bowl with a slice of grilled or toasted bread rubbed with garlic to soak up the broth; note that this adds gluten.
Storage & Leftovers
Store leftover stew in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to two days. Seafood is best eaten soon after cooking, so aim to finish it within that window for the best texture and flavor.
Reheat gently in a covered pot over low heat just until warmed through, stirring occasionally. Avoid a rolling boil and do not microwave on high for long stretches, since aggressive heat is what turns the scallops tough and rubbery.
To get ahead, make the tomato and fennel broth through the simmering stage and refrigerate it on its own; sear the scallops fresh and warm them in the reheated broth just before serving so they stay tender.
Notes & Tips
- Buy dry-packed scallops: Look for scallops labeled dry or dry-packed rather than wet-packed. Wet scallops are treated with a solution that makes them weep water in the pan, which prevents browning; dry scallops sear to a proper golden crust.
- Pull the little side muscle: Each scallop has a small tough tab on the side. Peel it off with your fingers before searing, since it stays chewy even when the scallop is perfectly cooked.
- Judge doneness by feel: A perfectly cooked scallop is opaque through the center and just firm to the touch with a slight spring. If it feels hard and bouncy, it has gone a step too far, so err on the side of pulling it early.
- Use the fennel fronds: Do not toss the feathery green fronds from the top of the fennel. Chop a few and stir them in with the basil and parsley at the end for an extra layer of that gentle anise aroma.
- Dial the heat to taste: The cayenne gives a background warmth rather than strong spice. Start with a lighter hand if you are cooking for kids or sensitive eaters, and add more at the end, since it is easy to build heat but impossible to take it out.
- Season the broth before the scallops go in: Taste and adjust the salt while the broth simmers, not after the scallops return, so you are seasoning the liquid without risk of overcooking the seafood while you fuss.
Nutrition & Mindful Eating
- The broth is where the work happens. Onion, fennel and garlic soften in olive oil, tomato paste goes dark in the pan, and the crushed tomatoes simmer down around them, so by the time the scallops arrive there is already something worth eating in the pot.
- Scallops go in last and cook for barely two minutes, which is what keeps them sweet and just firm rather than tight, and they bring a dense hit of protein along with selenium and B12 into a pot that is otherwise mostly vegetable.
- Fennel is what gives this broth its signature. Sliced thin, it turns soft and mildly sweet with a faint anise note running under everything, and it carries fiber and potassium down into the liquid.
- Crushed tomatoes and a spoonful of tomato paste give the stew its color and its backbone, the paste cooked out first so it goes deep and a little sweet, and the lycopene in both is taken up more easily because there is olive oil in the pot.
- Oregano, cayenne, basil and parsley layer the heat and the green. The dried oregano goes in early and turns savory in the broth, the cayenne is a low warmth at the back of it, and the fresh herbs land at the end so they stay bright.
- As you eat, bend over the bowl first and take in the fennel and tomato steam, then spoon slowly enough to catch how sweet the scallops have stayed against the warmth of the broth.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I use frozen scallops?
Yes. Thaw them fully in the refrigerator overnight or in a sealed bag under cold running water, then pat them very dry before searing. Excess surface moisture is the main thing that keeps frozen scallops from browning, so drying them well makes a real difference.
My scallops turned out rubbery. What went wrong?
Almost always it is overcooking. Scallops need only a quick sear and a brief warm-through at the end, and they toughen fast in a hard boil. Sear just until golden, keep the finished stew at a bare simmer, and pull everything from the heat as soon as the scallops are hot.
Is the broth supposed to be thin?
Yes, this is a brothy stew rather than a thick sauce, loosened with water so it stays light around the seafood. If you prefer it thicker, simmer the broth a little longer before the scallops go in to reduce and concentrate it.
What should I serve it with?
It stands on its own as a light main, but it is lovely with a piece of crusty bread for soaking up the broth or over a bowl of your favorite grain. A simple green salad on the side rounds it out.