Cacciucco Alla Viareggina

Cacciucco alla Viareggina is the signature fish stew of Viareggio, the Tuscan seaside town at the heart of the Versilia coast. The word cacciucco comes from the Tuscan verb caciucco (a broth of mixed fish) and is closely identified with the neighboring Livornese cacciucco, but the Viareggina variant has its own identity: it tends to be richer in shellfish, includes both red snapper (triglia) and scorpionfish (scorfano), and is finished with toasted bread rubbed with garlic and a generous glug of the local extra-virgin olive oil.

The traditional recipe layers the fish — at minimum five different species, as the saying goes 'five like the fingers of a hand' — with tomatoes, white wine, garlic, parsley, peperoncino, and a glass of fish stock. White-fleshed fish (snapper, scorpionfish, monkfish, conger eel) go in early, while shellfish (mussels, clams, prawns, mantis shrimp) go in last so they open properly. The broth is intense, briny, and peppery.

Eat it at the seafront trattorias of Viareggio's Passeggiata di Marina, at Mercato del Pesce (the morning fish market), and at family-run places in Camaiore, Pietrasanta, and Forte dei Marmi. Top addresses include Ristorante Romano, Il Senatore, and the historic Bagno Ristorante Nettuno. In Pisa, Lucca, and Florence, cacciucco is on menus at trattorie specializing in coastal Tuscan cuisine.