Cacciucco

Cacciucco: Cacciucco is an Italian fish stew native to the western coastal towns of Tuscany and Liguria.It is a hearty stew consisting of several different types of fish and shellfish. According to one tradition, there should be five different types of fish in the soup, one for each letter c in cacciucco.
A wide variety of Mediterranean fish and shellfish may be used, such as red gurnard, armored gurnard, scorpion fish (scorfano) and small clams such as littleneck or manila, firm-fleshed fish such as monkfish or other whitefish, red snapper, John Dory, or grouper, mussels, shrimp and calamari. Traditionalist chefs add a stone taken from the sea to the dish. Crabs, eels, cuttlefish, octopus, bream, mullet, or anything else caught that day might be used.

Ingredients for Cacciucco

(serves 8):

• 1/2 kg cuttlefish, roughly chopped
• 1/2 kg octopus, roughly chopped
• 1/2 kg mixed fish (gurnard, sea-robin and scorpion fish)
• 1/2 kg mixed shellfish (clams and mussels)
• 1/2 kg of prawns and shrimp
• 3 cloves of garlic, chopped
• 5 sage leaves
• 1 chilli
• 1 tin of tomato paste (400 gms)
• 200 ml white wine
• 12 slices of Tuscan bread
• 200 ml extra virgin olive oil
• 400 ml fish sauce
• Salt, to taste
• Black pepper powder, to taste

Method for Cacciucco:

• Toast the tuscan bread slice, rubbed with a garlic clove, till crisp.
• Season the toasted bread with pepper and keep aside.
• Wash and clean all the octopus and fishes under clean running water.
• Heat the olive oil in a large saucepan on medium heat.
• Fry in the chopped garlic, sage and chilly.
• Pour in wine and add tomato paste.
• Cook till the white wine is reduces to half.
• Add in the roughly chopped octopus and cuttlefish.
• Let it simmer for 10 minutes.
• Stir occasionally.
• Add in 1/2 kg of mixed fish.
• Simmer till the fish is cooked through, takes about 15-20 minutes.
• Meanwhile, in another saucepan cook all the fish heads in fish stock.
• Cook till the stock is reduced to half.
• Blend and puree the fish heads with the reduced stock.
• Strain the puree through a mesh.
• Add the strained puree to the saucepan with fish cooking in it.
• Add in the prawns and shrimp.
• Add in all the shellfish.
• Cover the saucepan.
• Cook for 7-8 minutes until the mussels and clams open up.
• Season the Cacciuccowith salt and black pepper powder.
• Cacciucco is ready to be served.
• Serve the Cacciucco in soup dish by placing the bread slice on the bottom and covering with fish soup.

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