Zuppa di Pesce
Region: Italy
Category: Stews
Season: Any
Difficulty: Medium Difficulty

Along every coastline of Italy, in every small fishing village or large port, the local cooking includes a zuppa di pesce a fish stew made with locally caught fish.  There is no standard recipe as it all depends on the catch.  This recipe is typical in Sicily where the larger prawns would be used with their heads on. You must use whatever local fish is available to you and not necessarily the ones I call for here.  For example, in place of the sardines one could use small mackerel or smelt, the little fish could be butterfish, the white fish could be Patagonian toothfish and sablefish and so on.  Use common sense. The shrimp broth called for can be made by simmering the shells of the shrimp in 3 1/2 cups water for 30 minutes.

[photo: Clifford A. Wright]

Yield: Makes 4 servings
Preparation Time: 1:15 hours

6 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil

1 medium onion, finely chopped

4 large garlic cloves, finely chopped

3 tablespoons finely chopped fresh parsley

3 tablespoons finely chopped fresh basil

1 pound ripe tomatoes, cut in half, seeds squeezed out, and grated against the largest holes of a grater down to the peel

3 cups shrimp broth (see note above)

1 cup water

Pinch of saffron, crumbled

4 salted anchovy fillets, rinsed

1 dried red chile, crumbled

3/4 pound firm-fleshed white fish such as swordfish or monkfish

4 fresh giant prawns with their heads (about 1 pound), shells removed but heads left on or 1/2 pound large shrimp, shelled

5 fresh sardines or smelts (about 1/2 pound), gutted and cleaned, heads and tails left on

2 small redfish, porgies, butterfish, or red snapper (about 1 pound), gutted, scaled, and cleaned, heads and tails left on

12 littleneck or manila clams, washed well

1. In a wide, flameproof casserole, heat the olive oil over medium-high heat, then cook the onion, garlic, parsley, and basil, until the onion is translucent, stirring frequently so the garlic doesn’t burn, about 5 minutes.  Add the tomatoes, reduce the heat to medium, and cook until much of the liquid has evaporated, about 10 minutes.  Add the shrimp broth, water, saffron, anchovies, and red chile.  Stir and reduce the heat to low and simmer for 30 minutes, stirring occasionally.  The broth can be left a very low simmer until you are ready to make dinner.

2. Once you are ready to serve, know that all the fish will cook in about 8 minutes.  Turn the heat to high and once the broth is boiling furiously add the whole fish chunks and the prawns with the heads but not the large shrimp without heads, if that is what you are using.  After 1 minute add the remaining ingredients, including the shrimp if using, gently pushing the fish down into the broth.  Once the clams have opened in 5 to 6 minutes, cook for another 1 to 2 minutes and serve.

Variation: 

Note: 

Posted: 12/29/2006