Book of Days Tales

On this date in 1859, Joshua Abraham Norton (1818 – 1880), a resident of San Francisco, California, proclaimed himself “Norton I, Emperor of the United States”. In 1863, after Napoleon III invaded Mexico, he took the secondary title of “Protector of Mexico.” Norton had become completely discontented with what he considered the inadequacies of the legal and political structures of the United States. In July 1859, he issued a brief manifesto addressed to the “Citizens of the Union.” It outlined in the broadest terms the national crisis as he saw it and suggested the imperative for action to address this crisis at the most basic level. The manifesto ran as a paid ad in the San Francisco Daily Evening Bulletin.Two months later, on September 17, 1859, Norton hand-delivered the following letter, declaring himself “Emperor of these United States”, to the offices of the Bulletin:

At the peremptory request and desire of a large majority of the citizens of these United States, I, Joshua Norton, formerly of Algoa Bay, Cape of Good Hope, and now for the last 9 years and 10 months past of San Francisco, California, declare and proclaim myself Emperor of these United States; and in virtue of the authority thereby in me vested, do hereby order and direct the representatives of the different States of the Union to assemble in Musical Hall, of this city, on the 1st day of February next, then and there to make such alterations in the existing laws of the Union as may ameliorate the evils under which the country is laboring, and thereby cause confidence to exist, both at home and abroad, in our stability and integrity.

— NORTON I., Emperor of the United States

Cioppino is a San Francisco/ Italian specialty. It was originally a humble soup made with fish scraps by Italian immigrant fishermen, but eventually turned into a more spectacular dish, with shrimp, mussels, clams and Dungeness crab in addition to white fish – fitting for a humble man becoming emperor. 

Ingredients

    2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil

    2 tablespoons unsalted butter

    ½  cup onion, chopped

    ¼ cup carrot, peeled, trimmed, and chopped

    ¼ cup celery, chopped

    ½ cup fennel bulb, trimmed and chopped

    1 clove garlic, minced or pressed

    1 tablespoon tomato paste

    ½ cup dry white wine

    1 (14-ounce) can diced tomatoes

    1 cup fish stock

    1 bay leaf

    ¼ teaspoon dried oregano

    ¼ teaspoon dried thyme

    ¼  teaspoon dried basil

    2 pinches cayenne pepper

    Kosher salt, to taste

    freshly ground black pepper, to taste

    2 tablespoons licorice liqueur, such as Sambuca or Pernod

    4 to 6 ounces grouper, or other firm white fish such as cod, halibut, or snapper

    24 ounces shellfish, such as peeled medium shrimp or shelled crabmeat

    6 to 8 mussels, or small clams

    1 to 2 tablespoons fennel fronds, chopped, or parsley, or a combination, for garnish

    2 large sea scallops (optional)

    2 to 3 tablespoons vegetable oil

Instructions

In a heavy soup pot or Dutch oven, heat the olive oil and butter. When the butter stops foaming, add the onion, carrot, celery, and fennel. Sprinkle with salt. Stir and cook for 5 or 6 minutes, until the vegetables have begun to soften and brown a little. Add the garlic and stir it in, cooking for another minute or so.

Add the tomato paste and stir, using the back of the spoon to break the paste apart and coat the vegetables as much as possible. Cook for a few minutes, until the tomato paste begins to darken slightly.

Add the wine and stir, scraping up any browned bits from the bottom of the pot. Bring to a boil and cook until most of the wine has evaporated.

Add the canned tomatoes (with liquid), stock, herbs (bay leaf, oregano, thyme, basil), and cayenne. Stir and taste for seasoning, adding salt and black pepper if necessary. Add the licorice liqueur, reduce heat, and simmer soup for at least an hour. (The soup base can be made ahead to this point and refrigerated or frozen.)

About 15 minutes before serving, bring the soup back to a simmer.

Cut the fish into chunks about 2 inches by 1 inch. Scrub the mussels or clams.

Turn the heat up to medium-high. Add the mussels or clams and cover the pot. Cook for about 5 minutes, or until the shells open.

If using the optional scallops, sprinkle with salt. Just before adding the clams or mussels to the pot, heat a small skillet over medium-high heat. Pour in enough oil to form a thick coat of oil on the bottom. Just when the oil begins to smoke, turn down the heat slightly and add the scallops. As the mussels or clams steam, cook the scallops for 2 to 3 minutes, until deep golden brown. Turn them over and cook the other side for a couple of minutes. Remove to a small plate.

Turn the heat back down on the soup pot to a simmer and add the fish. Cook for 1 minute, and then add the shrimp and crab. Cook for 2 minutes or just until shrimp are done, and crab is warmed through.

When the soup is ready, place a scallop in the center of each large soup bowl (if using scallops). Ladle the soup into the large soup bowls. Sprinkle with parsley or fennel fronds.