Tag: Soup

CUCINA POVERA – REDISCOVERING SOUP

Cucina Povera is steeped in culture and tradition.

I have a friend who once said to me “Soup is for poor people”. I must have looked stunned, so he clarified: “Only poor people eat soup.”

Coming from an Italian background, and he from a Brazilian, I understand where he’s coming from. In Italy, we refer to it as Cucina Povera, or poor cuisine/peasant cookery that is deeply rooted in heritage and customs.

Soups were traditionally the sustenance of the peasant class, utilizing what was inexpensive or accessible. The motto – In the kitchen, nothing is thrown away – resonates deeply with this tradition.

In the last decade soups and rustic cooking have made a remarkable comeback, evolving into main meals as cooks rediscover their versatility. Unlike in the past, when my parents served soups as the Primo (first course) and always followed by a Secondo (second course/main) today’s focus on minimizing waste aligns beautifully with the philosophy of  – fare qualcosa fuori di niente – making something out of nothing.

The ingredients for traditional Cucina Povera depended on local produce. As Patience Gray notes in Honey from a Weed: The fact that every crop is of short duration promotes a spirit of making the best of it while it lasts and conserving a part of it for future use.

The contadini, or peasants, often relied on less desirable cuts of meat, seasonal or discarded vegetables, wild herbs, grains, and pulses, the produce that they couldn’t sell. Despite their limited resources, these simple ingredients resulted in nutritious and flavourful soups. When cooking, they also had to take into account practical considerations, such as the size and number of pots and the methods of heating.

In many Italian households, it is still common to add stale bread to soups that originally was used for sustenance and as thickening. For example, Pappa al Pomodoro, a pureed tomato soup is thickened with bread. Pappa means pap. I also remember Pappa di Pane (bread), being a favourite and often the first solid food for babies.

A more perfect example of the ultimate zero-waste soup of Cucina Povera is is Ribollita, a thick, Tuscan soup made with cannellini beans, vegetables (including cavolo nero) and bread.

Ribollita means “reboiled” and the next batch of Ribollita sees the leftover soup being used to make the new batch. More vegetables are added, and it is once again thickened with stale bread.

Coastal regions also have a rich tradition of fish soups and many famous Italian fish soups originated from peasant cuisine, often made from discarded fish that were simmered to make a flavourful stock.

Elisabeth Laud highlights that: The limitations imposed by a single pot, a single heat source, local produce, and little or no access to imports are characteristic of peasant cooking, giving it a distinct identity.

Cucina Povera encompasses more than just soup, it includes a variety of regional pasta, polenta, and rice dishes, all made with frugal ingredients.

Growing up, my family enjoyed a multitude of Zuppe and Minestre. And you may wonder about the distinction between them.

A Zuppa refers to a soup or broth served over slices of bread, allowing the bread to soak up the delicious liquid. In contrast, a Minestra typically contains rice or pasta, making it heartier. The Oxford Companion of Italian Food by Gillian Riley notes that: a pureed vegetable soup is classified as a zuppa.

The term Zuppa is thought to derive from a Celtic word that translates as “slice of bread.” Historically, wealthy nobles would serve extravagant dishes on large pieces of bread, using the bread as a base for their meals. The leftover soaked bases of bread would often be given to servants, who would then cook the soaked bread with simple ingredients to create soups.

Minestre, on the other hand, comes from the Latin ministrare, meaning “to administer,” perhaps demonstrating what happened in family gatherings where a figure of authority (the father) would serve from a central pot.

The Minestra, therefore, could imply “a thicker soup” with rice or pasta or polenta or some other cereal as a thickener. So, what are we to make of Minestrone, which is signifies a big, hearty soup, implied by the ending –one as distinct from Minestrina, the -ina indicates a little light soup. Usually a Minestrina is fed to babies or young children, or sick people. It is never heavy.

And what about Vellutate? It derives from the word velluto – velvet. One could have a good time guessing.

The terminology has become increasingly ambiguous over time. There’s much more to explore, such as Brodo (broth) and wet pasta dishes that don’t fit neatly into the categories of soup or Pasta Asciutta – pasta dishes that are dressed but remain dry.

I consulted a number of resources and this book: Grande Enciclopedia Illustrata della Gostronamia. It is written in Italian and therefore it is probably not surprising that it has more clarification about Zuppa and Minestra.

I like this quote from this book:

Ma benché sia così radicata nella tradizione italiana oggi non è affatto semplice definire che cosa sia esattamente una minestra. (But although it (minestra and zuppa) are so rooted in the Italian tradition, today it is not at all easy to define what exactly a soup is)

I love the Italian language!

Moulinex for making vellutate (veloutés), baby food and Pappa al Pomodoro

CAVOLO NERO and three ways to cook it (Ribollita)

MINESTRA from Trieste – borlotti, pearl barley, sauerkraut

MINESTRA from Trieste with borlotti and pearl barley – Minestra d’Orzo e Fagioli is a traditional Triestine soup with sauerkraut (capuzi garbi) as an optional ingredient.

It is one of the most comforting soups and is wonderfully brothy, nourishing and deeply satisfying.

It is a meal I enjoy cooking during Melbourne’s cold winter months.

These are three ingredients I almost always have on hand. Together they produce a soup that reflects the culinary heritage of Trieste, a city where Italian, Austrian and Central European food traditions meet.

Borlotti beans, pearl barley – humble ingredients that define this Triestine minestra/ soup
A Taste of Trieste

My love of this soup comes from having lived in Trieste as a child. Sauerkraut, known locally in the Triestino dialect as capuzi garbi (“sour cabbage”), was a familiar ingredient in many homes throughout winter.

Even today I always keep jars of sauerkraut in my pantry. I also cook dried borlotti beans and pearl barley separately in batches, storing them in their cooking liquid in the refrigerator or freezer. This makes preparing a wholesome soup easy —simply combine the cooked ingredients, warm them together and dinner is ready.

Like most Italian home cooking, this recipe is flexible rather than prescriptive. Adjust the proportions according to your taste and what you have available.

Trieste, Ponte Rosso
Every Family Makes It Differently

Like the majority of the way Italians cook, the quantity of ingredients is only an estimate…use more or less of any ingredient to suit your taste and there are many versions of this soup throughout Trieste and this is important to acknowledge.

Some cooks leave out the sauerkraut altogether, while others enrich the broth with potatoes, smoked pork or lard making it a closer version to Iota, another Triestine favourite. Potatoes create a thicker, heartier soup, but I prefer a lighter broth where the flavours of the beans, barley and sauerkraut remain distinct.

The Role of Lardo

Many traditional Triestine recipes begin with lardo affumicato (smoked pork fat) or speck, which gives the soup remarkable depth and richness.

Lardo affumicato or speck adds traditional richness to Trieste bean and barley soup.

It is worth noting that the Italian word lardo can refer to different products:

  • Lardo affumicato is smoked pork fat used for cooking.
  • Lardo is rendered pork fat is also called lardo in Italian and simply “lard” in English.
  • Lardo is also a celebrated Italian salume made from cured pork back fat, traditionally seasoned with herbs and spices. Perhaps the most famous is Lardo di Colonnata, matured in marble basins in the Carrara region.

Lardo as a salume is eaten (sliced very thinly) and widely used in Italian cuisine especially in northern Italy; it is made from the thick layer of fat from the back of a pig and cured and no additives or preservatives are used.

Lardo does make a big difference if used – it will enrich the taste and the texture of the soup.

I generally do not have Lardo in my fridge but I can easily purchase it if I wish.

No lardo? I finish each bowl with a generous drizzle of excellent extra virgin olive oil and plenty of freshly ground black pepper.

Dried Beans or Canned?

I almost always cook dried borlotti beans because they are inexpensive, delicious and produce a wonderfully flavoursome cooking liquid that becomes part of the soup. If I drain borlotti, for example in a sale, I keep the borlotti broth and use it as stock.

However, if you prefer to use canned beans, simply cook the barley separately and add the drained beans towards the end of cooking.

You will need additional vegetable or chicken stock because you will not have the rich bean broth that develops naturally when cooking dried beans.

Ingredients
  • 250 g dried borlotti beans
  • 250 g pearl barley
  • 1–3 garlic cloves
  • 2–4 bay leaves
  • A handful of chopped parsley
  • Salt and freshly ground black pepper
  • Extra virgin olive oil, to serve
Optional
  • 80–100 g smoked lardo or speck, finely diced
  • 2–3 potatoes, peeled and diced
  • 150–200 g sauerkraut (capuzi garbi), drained and gently squeezed.

*** I have a recipe to make Iota, see below.

Method
  1. Soak the borlotti beans and pearl barley separately overnight in plenty of cold water.
  2. Drain the beans and place them in a large saucepan with fresh water, the garlic and bay leaves. Bring to the boil, then simmer for approximately 30 minutes.
  3. Add the soaked pearl barley, parsley, salt and pepper.
  4. If using potatoes or sauerkraut, add them at the same time as the barley.
  5. Continue cooking for another 20–30 minutes, or until both the beans and barley are tender.
  6. If using diced smoked lardo or speck, add it with the beans at the beginning of cooking so its flavour slowly enriches the broth.
  7. Taste and adjust the seasoning before serving.

Serve hot with a generous drizzle of good-quality extra virgin olive oil and freshly ground black pepper.

I have always loved the Triestine word for bread—pan. Short, strong and wonderfully direct, it perfectly suits the rustic loaf that belongs beside this soup. A thick slice of good pan is all that is needed to complete the meal.

A bowl of  brothy Minestra d’Orzo e Fagioli

IOTA

IOTA recipe for SBS ITALIAN (a thick soup from Trieste)

Pork Hock, Polish Wedding Sausage, Borlotti and Sauerkraut =IOTA (a lean version)

IOTA (Recipe, a very thick soup from Trieste) Post 1

IOTA FROM TRIESTE, Italy, made with smoked pork, sauerkraut, borlotti beans 

GNOCHETI DE GRIES (as called in Trieste), GNOCCHETTI DI SEMOLINO (Italian), SEMOLINA Small GNOCCHI

GNOCHETI DE GRIES (as called in Trieste), GNOCCHETTI DI SEMOLINO (Italian), SEMOLINA Small GNOCCHI are popular additions to Brodo (broth). They are popular in Trieste.

BRODO (Broth)

In my parent’s house we ate brodo (broth) once per week. Sometimes it was made with chicken, sometimes with yearling beef and at other times it was a mixture of the two meats; a few bones were always included.

We always had brodo as the first course and the boiled meat as the second course, and this was always accompanied with Salsa verde.

Brodo is popular all over Italy and is considered essential especially when a member of the household is feeling unwell. It is seen as a restorative food in many other cultures.

What to have in Brodo

Often we would have tortellini in brodo, but at other times, my mother added pastina (small pasta); these were either capelli d’angelo (angel’s hair) or thin egg noodles or stelline (small stars) or quadretti (small squares).

Most of the time we had or favourite: gnocchetti di semolino floating in our brodo – these are small gnocchi, a specialty from Trieste.

Because I spent my childhood there I became an expert gnocchetti maker from an early age.

Gnocchetti in brodo.

Recently, I have been making brodo with semolina gnocchetti. I used a tea spoon to shape them.

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RECIPE GNOCCHETTI  made with Semolina
To make brodo, see:  BRODO DI GALLINA
INGREDIENTS
50 g of butter,
1 egg,
100g of semolina,
pinch of salt,
grated Parmesan cheese (1 tbs in the mixture and some to present at the table)
PROCESSES
Make the brodo:
Beat softened butter and egg with a small wooden spoon until soft and well mixed. Use a small jug, milk saucepan or a bowl with steep sides.
Add the semolina and grated cheese slowly and continue to mix vigorously until perfectly smooth.
Bring the broth to the boil.
Use a wet teaspoon to shape the gnocchetti. Take small quantities of the mixture and slip small oval shapes off the spoon into the boiling broth. Keep the broth on a gentle boil.

Continue shaping the gnocchetti and poaching them until the mixture is finished. The gnocchietti rise to the surface when cooked (about 5 minutes). If cooking large quantities of gnocchetti, to prevent over cooking, take the cooked ones out with a slotted spoon before slipping in the new ones, but with the above amounts this will not be necessary.

Ladle broth and a few gnocchetti into each bowl and present with grated cheese.

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Pastina, cut into little squares (quadrettini) by hand

The pasta I use  in brodo is commercially made, but when I eat brodo in Sicily at my zia Niluzza’s (my father’s sister) makes fresh quadrettini (very little squares) – she cuts the fresh pasta amazingly quickly.

MUSSELS IN TRIESTE and Mussel recipes

IOTA FROM TRIESTE, Italy, made with smoked pork, sauerkraut, borlotti beans ; Post 2

 

CHICKPEAS SOUP WITH WILD FENNEL (Minestra di ceci con finocchio, erba selvatica)

I enjoy eating chickpeas, borlotti, cannellini beans or lentils in soups especially with wild fennel.  I also enjoy pulses in salads and as additions to other dishes.

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WILD FENNEL

And this is what brings me (yet again) to writing about wild fennel – I find a bowl of any of the above pulses presented in their broth and flavoured with wild fennel very refreshing. The extra virgin olive oil drizzled on top of the soup when it is presented to the table, makes the soup even more aromatic.

This wild fennel plant and several other large bushes of wild fennel grow not very far from where I live, (in the centre of Melbourne). And this is where I do a little foraging. These plants are very robust and persistent and supply me with either foliage or seeds during the year (I know I need to be very careful about not picking plants that have been sprayed).

There are no seeds on this plant yet, but as the weather gets hotter there will be bright yellow flower heads which then will turn into dry, hard, brown seeds in late summer – I will be back to collect these and together with some dry oregano, chilli flakes and extra virgin olive oil, I will marinate this year’s black olives which are still in their brine.

The softer, younger foliage is also excellent used as a herb, raw in salads or when cooking fish.

Unlike the commercial bulb fennel, wild fennel does not have a bulb – the young shoots are used. In the photo below you can see the shoots within the larger foliage – they are the denser looking part of the two sprigs below; usually they are a lighter colour. When I collect the fennel, to keep the young shoots fresh I also collect the larger stem, where they are embedded. I find the stalks and the more mature, green fronds too tough to eat and the flavour too intense.

RECIPE FOR CHICKPEA SOUP WITH WILD FENNEL

It is necessary to soak the beans (or chickpeas) overnight, and although it is said that the lentils will not need soaking, I like to soak them for about an hour beforehand. Some cooks discard the soaking water – it is a common belief that changing the water will help to reduce the flatulence suffered when eating pulses. Also reputed to help is the addition of a pinch of fennel seeds (other countries use dill and caraway) therefore adding fresh fennel to this soup should function in the same way.

For this soup, I am using chickpeas.

INGREDIENTS
chickpeas, 400g
carrots, 2, left whole
garlic, 2- 3 cloves, squashed
wild fennel, 3-5 young shoots, left whole
salt, to taste
extra virgin olive oil, ½ cup (or more to taste)
PROCESSES
Soak chickpeas in cold water overnight – they will swell so it is important to put them in plenty of water.
Drain the water and change it (optional) Place sufficient water to cover the pulses and add carrots, a little extra virgin olive oil, garlic cloves and fennel (this will be the broth).
Bring the pulses to the boil. Cook the pulses until soft but preferably still whole. If using lentils they will cook quickly, but the other pulses may take 20– 30 mins. Add salt to taste.
Remove the carrot and some of the fennel. Cut up the fennel that you choose to eat and return it to the soup. Cool to desired temperature.
Ladle into bowls. Add a drizzle of extra virgin olive oil, and serve.
Other recipes using wild fennel can be found in previous posts.
See

 

MINESTRA DI TENERUMI (Summer soup made with the tendrils of a Sicilian squash)

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When I was in Palermo last September there were bunches of tenerumi on sale at the markets – these are the stems, leaves and tendrils of those long, twisted green zucche (squashes) that grow in Sicily and Calabria. The long serpent like squashes are called zucche serpente and you can guess why.

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Those of you who have travelled to Sicily in summer may have seen these very unusual vegetables and perhaps not known what they were. Both the squash and the greens are eaten and are considered rinfrescanti (cooling and refreshing for the body). The zucca (singular) and the greens are a Sicilian summertime specialty and I have not seen this type of squash growing in Australia yet.

The greens are usually made into a wet pasta dish and, unfortunately, it is not a dish you will find in a Sicilian restaurant. It is a typical, home-cooked, soupy dish with the flavours of summer: red summer tomatoes, garlic, basil, thickened with broken spaghetti and enhanced with a drizzle of good, extra virgin olive oil.

I first ate this soup in Augusta and it was cooked by one of my cousins, Lidia. In her version, Lidia used both the zucca and the greens. My relatives in Ragusa do not cook minestra di tenerumi very often – it is considered to be a dish typical of the regions of Palermo and Catania. (My mother’s side of the family originally came from Catania).

I was very pleased to eat minestra di tenerumi again recently when I visited a friend’s home in Bosco Falconeria, close to Castellammare (on the north coast, west of Palermo). I appreciated this simple, flavoursome dish for many reasons. Firstly, it was all produce picked fresh from Mary’ Taylor Simeti’s own garden. This included the olives used to make the fragrant, extra virgin olive oil and the organic wine we drank made by her husband, Tonino. Photo above is  the soup and how  Mary presented.

Mary Taylor Simeti is one of my heroes – I think that sometimes it takes a “foreigner ‘ with a passion to rediscover and tease out the history behind the food ( not that she is a foreigner, she is part of Sicily, having dedicated so many years to  writing about it in numerous books and articles).

Secondly, I was very pleased to be presented with such a simple dish. In my normal diet I eat a lot of vegetables and when I travel and eat in restaurants and trattorie, I crave freshly cooked vegetables – I can’t wait to get back to friends and relatives. Besides, these are not the typical vegetables or cooking found in Sicilian eateries and Mary, our host, knew that some of us who had been invited to eat at her table would never have eaten this. We all loved it. Mary presented this simple dish with small cubes of caciocavallo – a special DOP Sicilian cheese (cascavaddu in Sicilian) produced mainly in the province of Ragusa.

I once used the very young shoots of the zucchini plants (complete with the flowers and young zucchini) to make this soup – different, but nevertheless, rinfrescante and a celebration of summer.

Although we may not be able to buy tenerumi in Australia at this stage, we may not have long to wait.

I was fascinated to see one of the episodes of Sean Connelly’s Family Feast on SBS. It featured the food of a family of Africans from the Democratic Republic of Congo. They are living in the Western suburbs of Sydney and are growing African leaf vegetables; on the program the family were harvesting and eating tendrils very like tenerumi. These tendrils were the shoots from a different type of squash plant, but would probably taste very similar to the Sicilian variety.

As in all Sicilian food, there are local variations. Some substitute the garlic with finely chopped fresh onion, others add anchovies, but personally, if it is to be rinfrescante – refreshing, anchovies are not suitable. Here is a recipe which suits my tastes for making minestra di tenerumi (excuse me Mary if this is different to your recipe).

The wet pasta dish is cooked very quickly. The zucca (squash) is not always added in some versions of the recipe.

INGREDIENTS
tenerumi, equivalent to a large bunch, 500g
garlic cloves , 3-4 chopped finely
ripe tomatoes , 300g seeded and cut into dice (I think Mary used cherry tomatoes)
fresh basil leaves , torn, about 15
spaghetti , broken into small pieces, 200g
extra virgin olive oil, to taste
hot chilli (optional)
grated pecorino cheese (optional)

PROCESSES
Prepare the shoots and tendrils, discard the tough stems, separate into small bits.
Add the tenerumi to the boiling, salted water and bring to the boil again (estimate 3 cups of water per person).
Add the pasta and cook.
While the pasta is cooking, toss the tomatoes into a hot frying pan with about 3 tablespoons of the oil, add garlic and chilli, salt and some of the basil and heat through for a few minutes.
When the pasta is cooked, check that you have the correct consistency – it should be like a very thick soup and you may need to drain some of the liquid.
Add the warm tomato mixture and more basil.
Drizzle with your best extra virgin olive oil and serve.

Cheese is optional. I prefer it without and appreciate the fresh taste of the dish.

MACCU (a thick, broad bean soup, made at the end of winter to celebrate spring)

This is a photo of mature broad beans taken in the Palermo Market. If you were keen, you would extract the beans from the pods, dry them and store them. Now days  you would buy them dry.

broad-beans-B-300x225

‘You must try the maccu,’ urged my host as we perused the menu in a small restaurant in the back blocks of Palermo. ‘It’s one of our local specialities.’ A wide, shallow bowl was filled with a drab beige puree enlivened by a spiral of olive oil. I tasted it and in an instant understood that this was minestra di fave, the puree of broad beans that had sustained people throughout the Mediterranean in the 14th and 15th centuries, a dish familiar to me from many culinary manuscripts. The taste was pure, elemental, almost mono-dimensional, but enhanced with the timelessness of tradition. With every spoonful I was connected to civilisations past, from medieval to Roman and even back as far as ancient Greek and Egyptian. And when I harvest my broad beans each spring, the echo of this experience returns.
Barbara Santich, author and culinary historian.
From article in The Australian Weekend magazine: Unexpected delights, compiled by John Lethlean and Necia Wilden, August 03, 2009

I am always thrilled to read anything by Barbara Santich. Her writing is always rich in detail, well researched and a pleasure to read.

Maccu, is a traditional Sicilian very thick soup and in most parts of Sicily it is made of dried fave (broad beans). It is mostly cooked over the winter months and as Barbara informs us , it has been a staple dish for the contadini (peasants) since ancient times.

In some parts of Sicily it is also a celebratory dish cooked at the start of spring. Spring in Sicily has a particular significance for me because March19 was my father’s name day. It is the Feast of San Giuseppe (Saint Joseph); this feast also coincides with the spring solstice and in many parts of Sicily maccu is particularly eaten on this day.

Maccu is a recipe with spring sentiments of renewal, use up the old, celebrate the new. To make maccu, the dried beans of the last season are used before the new harvest begins in spring. Broken spaghetti and any assortment of left over, dry pasta shapes are also added to the soup and particularly in the days when pasta was sold loose, there used to be quite a few pasta casualties. Many of the religious celebrations have pagan origins; the feast of Saint Joseph in the Catholic religion is at the end of Lent, a time traditionally used for fasting, both in the religious sense and over the lean winter season.

Dried fave (broad beans) are the main ingredient. They are light brown and smooth and shaped a little like lima beans. And because they have a very tough skin, they need to be soaked and peeled before cooking. As you would expect, there are local variations in the recipes. In some parts of Sicily a mixture of pulses are used – lentils, beans, chickpeas and some recipes include dried chestnuts. The greater selection of pulses is found in Il grande maccu of San Giuseppe, the grandest soup of them all. Wild fennel is added to most versions – it adds colour and taste. Those of us who do not have this, can use fennel seeds and a few fennel fronds; a little green leaf vegetable like cime di rape, chicory or silver beet (Sicilans would use the wild beets) will also add the green colour. Some recipes include a little chopped celery, others have dried tomatoes (they would be kept under oil over the cold months).

I realize that it is not March, but in Australia we are looking forward to spring which starts in September and writing about maccu now seems appropriate.

This is a recipe for a very simple maccu.

INGREDIENTS
dry broad beans, 500 g (use a variety of other dried pulses if you wish)
wild fennel, one bunch ( or fennel seeds, crushed, 2 teaspoons and fresh fennel fronds)
onion, 1, cut finely
salt and freshly ground pepper to taste
extra virgin olive oil

PROCESSES
Soak the dried broad beans overnight.
Drain them and peel the outer skin off the broad beans.
Cover the legumes with an ample amount of water, add fennel seeds and cook the soup slowly. After about 40 minutes add the onion, fennel (and some small amounts of chopped greens if you wish). Continue to simmer for another 30 minutes. To prevent the pulses from remaining hard, add the seasoning after the pulses are cooked. If you wish to add pasta, add more water, bring to the boil and cook the pasta in the maccu.

Drizzle with generous amounts of extra virgin olive oil and serve (I do this at the table and on individual portions).

In some parts of Sicily, left over maccu is also eaten cold (the pulses solidify).

In the feauture photo the maccu is served with Lolli,  a type of hand-made pasta still customary today in the Modica area.  I ate this in Trattoria a Punta Ro Vinu in Modica.

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ZUPPA DI PISCI A SIRAUSANA – ZUPPA DI PESCE ALLA SIRACUSANA (Fish soup from Syracuse)

Pesce+40+Syracusa_0072

You can see from the photo taken when I was last in Syracuse, that fish is plentiful in their markets.

I ate zuppa di pesce as often as I could in Syracuse – rich and fragrant and made with a great variety of fish; one zuppa had a greater variety of molluscs and also included octopus.

The zuppa di pesce (also known as ghiotta di pesce) from Syracuse is a signature dish. It is different from other zuppe di pesce because unlike cucina povera (food made from very meagre ingredients) it is made with quality, prime fish. It contains powerful flavours and is very aromatic.

A zuppa in Sicilian and Italian is a soup (zuppa, a word from Middle English and French soupe). A zuppa di pesce is usually served over slices of bread like a bouillabaisse. Sometimes it is also called a ghiotta di pesce because it is cooked in a tomato-based stock.

The line dividing a fish braise from a zuppa di pesce is blurry. Generally a zuppa contains more liquid and a braise will involve cooking in a small amount of liquid that is reduced and concentrated.

I do buy a mixture of whole fish and fillets. Do not associate cost with quality. Fish with bones (like meat with bones, add flavour).

I have chosen a very simple recipe. Naturally, Sicilians can’t help using some wild fennel (if it is in season) and a few ground fennel seeds would not be wasted.

fish-for-zuppa-di-pesceDSC_0140-300x201

Suitable fish:
A variety of seafood is preferable, but avoid oily fish (like sardines, tailor, mackerel, Australian salmon, trevally). Select at least:
• two different types of fleshy fish. I use: flathead, leatherjacket, albacore tuna, all types of whiting, snapper and blue-eye trevalla if line caught (better choice). Red emperor, snapper, blue-eye trevalla (think twice and if line caught are in the better choice category).
• one crustacean – green (uncooked) shellfish –prawns, lobster (mostly in the think twice), crabs and fresh water yabbies (better choice)
• one cephalopod – cuttlefish, octopus or squid (better choice).
• one mollusc – mussels and vongole (also known as pipis) are the most common in Australia (better choice).

(See my previous posts for categories of sustainable fish)

INGREDIENTS
fish, 1.5 kg, mixed.
tomatoes, 500g peeled, seeded, and chopped
extra virgin olive oil, I/2 cup
celery heart, 2 – 3 pale green stalks and leaves, chopped
salt and freshly ground pepper
bay leaves, 3 – 4, fresh
garlic, 4- 8 cloves, chopped finely
flat leaf parsley, 2 tablespoons, chopped finely
water, 1 litre

PROCESSES
Prepare the fish: You will need chunks of fish for this recipe (for convenience you could use fillets). Clean, shellfish, molluscs and squid appropriately and cut into mouth-sized pieces.

Make la ghiotta in a shallow wide pan, large enough to accommodate the fish and the ingredients.
For the ghiotta:
Soften the celery in the extra virgin olive oil, for about 5 minutes.
Add the garlic, tomatoes, seasonings and herbs, cover and allow this to simmer gently for 10 minutes.
Add as much water as you think necessary and bring the ghiotta gently to the boil – it is a thick soup.
Add the fish, cover and gently poach it for 5-10 minutes or until the fish is cooked to your liking. Do not stir or move the fish around during cooking or it is likely to result in the fish breaking up.

Serve with crisp, oven toasted bread.

VARIATIONS

  • For additional flavour I use fish stock rather than water.
  • Some of the restaurateurs I spoke to also add a thin peel of orange peel.

Apologies to my overseas readers.

I am astounded about the number of you that there are ( I use a stat counter), and I am sorry that I am writing about Australian species of fish. One day, maybe when (and if) my manuscript about Sicilian recipes (using sustainable fish) is ever published, I will embark on greater research about the fish (sustainable) you have in your oceans.

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