PHOTOGRAPH: MIKE ENGLISH. FOOD STYLING: MONIQUE LANE.
STYLING: REBECCA NEWPORT
"My grandparents bought an old, dilapidated fishing cottage that they never lived in but restored for family parties. It was in Benicia, near San Francisco in northern California, and it had a long wharf that stretched out into Martinez Bay. We’d place tables down the centre of it, upon which we all dined on a special fish stew called cioppino, served with garlic bread and good Napa wine. Once, we seated and served more than 60 people down the length of that wharf. Only a few fell off…
This recipe was my grandfather’s and he taught me to cook it at a young age. I didn’t have a lot of choice in the matter. He’d put my dad, two uncles and me on cioppino duty every year for the big day. We’d start by making a fish stock with crab and lobster shells and whatever fish bones happened to be lying around – when you’re filleting fish for large groups like that, you’re never lacking in fish bones.
Then we’d start the cioppino, which was cooked outside over an open fire. There, over the hot coals, it would simmer away until guests began to arrive. As the sun set, the music would start and the party would go on late into the night. Even though I now live in the UK, the mere whiff of this dish as it cooks takes me straight back to Martinez Bay.
FIND MORE OF DAN’S RECIPES ON HIS WEBSITE, GREATCURRYRECIPES.NET