Brodetto

Brodetto is a flavourfull and easy to make fish stew, the Italian answer to Bouillabaise. All you need is some good quality fish so go check out what your fishmonger is offering or scout the weekly/daily market for some yummy seafood. The ingredients that I used are not binding, just choose a firm white fish, some crustacean and some types of clams. See that you have a nice variation to prepare this dish!

Estimated preparing time: about 60-90 minutes, fishstock included

Ingredients:

• 3Dl. of fishstock  -  you'll need the following to make about 1-1,5lt. of it
• 1,5Lt. tabwater
• +/-500Gr. of fish ( a cheaper but firm fish, for instance Red Gurnard)
• some fish bones +/- 500Gr.
• 1 celery stalk, chopped
• 2 carrots, chopped
• 1 leek, only the white part, chopped
• 3 tomatoes, chopped
•  some flat parsley leaves, a little handfull
• 2 fresh squid
• 300Gr. of mussels
• 300Gr. of vongole
• 4 gamba
• 300Gr. of cod cheeks
• 1 chillie, finely chopped
• 2 cloves of garlic, finely chopped
• a big drop of dry white wine
• a handfull of flat parsley
• Cayenne
• Pepper and salt
• Olive oil

Start by making the fish stock. Bring up 1,5lt. of water to a boil, add the vegetables, parsley, fishbones and fish. Season with pepper and salt and let it simmer for 20mins. 

Let all the ingredients cool down. Take out the chunks of fish and pass the liquid trough a sieve. Keep 3dl. of the stock aside for this recipe, after you're done with it  you can save it for later by putting it in the freezer. 

Clean the fresh squid. 

Take out the intestins and the 'bone' and cut in rings.  Heat up some olive oil and fry the squids shortly. 

Add the chillie, garlic and gamba and fry untill the shell of the gamba starts turning red.

Add the mussels, vongole and chopped parsley and pour in the white wine. Start adding the fishstock and make sure all is submerged, add some more stock if necessary. Throw in a pinch of cayenne and bring to a light boil for 10 minutes. Put in the cod cheeks and the rests of the Red Gurnard that you used for the stock and let these cook for 5 more minutes.

Divide the fish, clams and seafood into deep dishes and pour some sauce over it. Serve hot,  just like this or with a simple boiled potato or rice! The remaining sauce/stock can be recuperated for later!

Enjoy,

Kev