Cacciucco

Cacciucco (Tuscan Fisherman's Seafood Stew)

A hearty, rustic stew from the port of Livorno built on a tomato and red wine broth, brimming with at least five kinds of fish and shellfish, traditionally served over toasted bread rubbed with garlic.

Prep

25 min

Cook

50 min

Total

75 min

Serves

4 to 6

Difficulty

Medium

Recipe ingredients

• •120 ml (½ cup) extra-virgin olive oil, plus extra for finishing
• •4 g (4 cloves) garlic, 2 whole, peeled; 2 halved for the bread; plus 2 finely chopped for the stew
• •1 whole (1 medium) red onion, finely chopped
• •1 stalk celery, finely chopped
• •1 whole (1 small) fennel bulb, finely chopped, fronds reserved
• •1 whole red chilli (peperoncino), dried or fresh, thinly sliced; adjust to taste
• •15 g (1 tbsp) tomato paste
• •125 ml (½ cup) dry red wine, Tuscan if possible (Sangiovese or Chianti); a dry Spanish or Californian red works at home
• •400 g (14 oz) canned San Marzano tomatoes, crushed by hand, or 14 oz can
• •500 ml (2 cups) fish stock, light; homemade from non-oily fish bones if possible
• •1 g (1 large sprig) fresh marjoram or oregano, leaves only
• •1 leaf bay leaf
• •5 g (1 tsp) fine sea salt, plus more to taste
• •1 g (½ tsp) freshly ground black pepper
• •400 g (14 oz) mixed firm-fleshed fish, e.g. monkfish, gurnard, hake, cod, or snapper, cut into 4 cm chunks
• •12 whole mussels, scrubbed, debearded; discard any that are open and stay open after a sharp tap
• •8 whole clams (vongole), scrubbed; discard any open ones that don't close when tapped
• •8 whole large raw shrimp, shell on, deveined
• •8 whole raw squid, tubes cleaned and sliced into 1 cm rings, or small whole baby squid
• •4 g (4 thick slices) crusty country bread, Tuscan pane toscano is traditional; a rustic sourdough works at home
• •1 whole lemon, cut into wedges, to serve
• •10 g (¼ cup) fresh flat-leaf parsley, finely chopped, to finish

Steps

1. 1 Make the soffritto: warm the olive oil in a wide, heavy pot (a 30 cm Dutch oven is ideal) over medium-low heat. Add the 2 whole peeled garlic cloves, the chopped onion, celery, and fennel with a pinch of salt. Cook gently for 10–12 minutes, stirring often, until the vegetables are soft and translucent but not browned.
2. 2 Add the finely chopped garlic and the sliced peperoncino and cook for 1 minute until fragrant, then stir in the tomato paste and cook for 2 minutes more, pressing it against the bottom of the pot.
3. 3 Pour in the red wine, raise the heat to medium-high, and let it bubble down by about half, 3–4 minutes, scraping up any browned bits.
4. 4 Add the crushed tomatoes, fish stock, marjoram/oregano, bay leaf, 1 tsp salt, and a few grinds of pepper. Bring to a gentle simmer and cook for 15–20 minutes to meld the flavours; taste and adjust salt. The broth should be assertive — it has to season a lot of seafood.
5. 5 While the broth simmers, prepare the seafood. Have the fish, mussels, clams, shrimp, and squid in separate piles. If using frozen-at-sea or previously frozen fish, thaw completely in the refrigerator (food safety note: as an at-home substitute for the boatside cull, only use seafood that has been kept properly cold; discard any shellfish that smells off or is sluggish).
6. 6 Add the squid first (it needs the longest gentle cook in tomato). Simmer for 4 minutes, then add the fish chunks. Simmer 3 minutes — the fish should be just opaque at the edges and flake easily when pressed with a spoon (internal temperature 60–63°C / 140–145°F on an instant-read probe).
7. 7 Nestle the mussels and clams into the broth, hinge-side down so they open on top. Cover and cook 2–3 minutes, then add the shrimp. Cover again and cook 2–3 minutes more, until every mussel and clam has popped open and the shrimp are pink and curled; discard any mussels or clams that stay firmly shut.
8. 8 Pluck out and discard the 2 whole garlic cloves and the bay leaf. Scatter in the chopped parsley and a generous grind of pepper.
9. 9 While the seafood is finishing, toast the bread: grill or dry-toast the slices on a ridged pan until charred at the edges. Rub each slice at once with a halved raw garlic clove and drizzle with a little olive oil.
10. 10 To serve the Tuscan way, place a slice of garlic-rubbed toast in the bottom of each shallow bowl. Ladle the stew over the bread so it soaks up the broth, then finish with a drizzle of raw olive oil, a squeeze of lemon, and a few reserved fennel fronds.