A silky Ligurian fishermen's soup of assorted rockfish slow-simmered then pressed entirely through a food mill, yielding a bone-free, smooth cream served over thick slices of fried bread. Born in the Sestri Levante area from fish too small or bony to sell at market, ciuppin is the direct culinary ancestor of San Francisco's cioppino, carried west by Genovese immigrants in the late nineteenth century.
Ciuppin emerged from the fishing communities of the Riviera di Levante, particularly the stretch between Chiavari, Lavagna, and Sestri Levante, as an ingenious way to use the smallest, boniest fish that could not be sold at market. The Ligurian word ciuppìn means little soup or scraps. When Genovese fishermen emigrated to San Francisco in the latter half of the nineteenth century, they settled in North Beach and recreated the dish at Meiggs Wharf using whatever local Pacific seafood was available. The dish was documented as chespini in The San Francisco Call in 1901, and the name cioppino appeared in The Refugee's Cookbook of 1906, published for those displaced by the San Francisco earthquake. Today ciuppin holds PAT (Prodotto Agroalimentare Tradizionale) status in Liguria, and is recognised as distinct from buridda, the other great Ligurian fish stew, which is left chunky and never sieved.
Intensely oceanic with zero distraction from bones; the cream carries layers of rockfish sweetness and a marine depth that plain fillets never achieve. Fried bread floats briefly before surrendering to the soup's richness, adding Maillard-toasted crunch as textural contrast.
Long, gentle simmering (35–40 minutes) converts the abundant collagen in rockfish skin and connective tissue into gelatin, which dissolves into the broth and provides body and a silky mouthfeel. Pressing the entire pot through a food mill forces all soft fish flesh through the perforated disc while retaining bones and skin; simultaneously, the mechanical shear emulsifies the fish lipids with the gelatin-enriched broth. The result is a stable colloidal suspension—fine protein particles and fat droplets suspended in a gelatin matrix—that coats the palate like a cream soup. Serving over fried country bread adds Maillard-toasted starches and absorbed fat that contrast with the pure oceanic puree.
Variations
Buridda, the other great Ligurian fish stew, is the key point of contrast: it is left chunky with whole fish pieces and never sieved. Some coastal variants add a handful of mussels or clams for the final five minutes before milling. San Francisco's cioppino eliminated the sieving step entirely, retaining whole shellfish in the shell and evolving into a chunky tomato-based stew rather than a cream.
On the Palate
Where Ciuppin sits in the Italian flavor cloud
Ingredients
Serves 4
How it's made
8 steps · 35 min active + 45 min waiting
- 110 min
Scale, gut, and rinse all fish; cut into large chunks (heads and bones may be included for extra flavour).
- 28 min
Build a soffritto: saute garlic and onion in olive oil until golden; add parsley and a pinch of chili flakes.
- 35 min
Add crushed tomatoes and white wine; simmer together for 5 minutes.
- 45 min
Add all fish pieces; pour in fish stock or water to barely cover; bring to a gentle simmer.
- 540 min
Cook uncovered over low heat for 35–40 minutes until the fish is very tender and the broth is fragrant and reduced.
Watch outSimmer low and slow until the fish flakes apart on its own and the broth smells sweet, not fishy — rushing it on high heat clouds the soup and leaves it thin.
- 65 min
Pass the entire contents through a food mill, pressing firmly to extract all flesh and broth; discard bones and skin.
Watch outPress hard through the food mill so every scrap of flesh goes through — what's left behind is just bones and skin.
- 73 min
Return the smooth puree to the pot; taste and adjust seasoning; reheat gently if needed.
- 84 min
Fry thick slices of country bread in olive oil until golden on both sides; place one slice per bowl, ladle ciuppin generously over, and serve immediately.
Watch outFry the bread until deep golden and crisp so it holds up under the soup — pale toast turns to mush the moment you ladle over it.
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