If you caught the Tuscany episode of Stanley Tucci's Searching for Italy, you'll know that Cacciucco alla Livornese is so much more than fish soup. The recipe captures the flavor and spirit of Livorno, a port city in Tuscany, located on the spot where the border between the Tyrrhenian and Ligurian Seas is blurry.
The hearty fish stew dates back 500 years and like most old-school Italian dishes, was created to prevent unused fish scraps from going to waste, but nowadays recipes also call for fine finfish and shellfish. While preparations vary, cacciucco always bursts with flavor from the tomatoes, garlic, white wine, chili peppers, and fresh herbs that cook with the seafood.
Our recipe for cacciucco alla Livornese follows. The beauty of cooking is that it's ever-evolving, so you can use this as a guide to creating your own. To uphold Livornese tradition, though, just make sure to use at least five different types of fish – one for each “c” in its name.
Cacciucco is not one of those stews where all the ingredients are added at one time, then it sits and cooks for hours. You have to pay attention to the cooking times, starting with firm fish then adding softer fish later. It's always ladled on top of a toasted slice of garlic-rubbed bread, which is placed in the bowl just before serving.
Cacciucco alla Livornese
Ingredients for 6
Time 2 hours
2 lb. scorpionfish
1 lb. tub gurnard
1 lb. cuttlefish
1 lb. goatfish
10 oz. rockfish
8 oz. angler
7 oz. smooth-hound
7 oz. octopus
6 thick slices of bread
6 shrimp
1 onion
1 carrot
1 celery stalk
2 lb. tomatoes
1 cup dry white wine
parsley garlic
fresh chilli pepper
extra-virgin olive oil
salt
Fillet the scorpionfish, tub gurnards, and – if you want – the goatfish. Scale and remove the bones from the fillets, clean the cuttlefish, octopus, and shrimp. Set the scraps aside. Chop the celery, carrot, and onion, lightly fry them in a wide pan with 4-5 Tbsp. olive oil, add the chopped cuttlefish and octopus, wine, and 1 cup water. Simmer for 20 minutes, remove the cuttlefish and octopus, and set aside.
Add the tomatoes, chilli pepper to taste, fish scraps, the goatfish (if you filleted it, add the fishbones and keep the fillets for later), and the rockfish. Cook for 30 minutes, adding water if necessary.
Filter and place back over the heat.
Add the cuttlefish and octopus, then the rest of the fish from the less to the most tender every 10 minutes – scorpionfish and angler, smoothhound, tub gurnards, and the shrimp (and goatfish fillets), which will cook in 5 minutes. Season with salt and add the chopped parsley. Toast the bread slices, flavor them with a garlic clove and place one in every bowl. Pour the soup into the bowl and serve.