Cacciucco or cacciuco is a traditional Italian fish soup. Like all soups from this Tuscan region, it is very thick. Initially, cacciuco was made from any small fish or seafood – whatever was at hand and what was left over from the morning’s catch. But over time, the recipe has changed so much that in the modern soup, all that remains is fish broth and pieces of fried bread. How is cacciucco prepared nowadays?
What is Tuscan cacciucco soup made of?
Nowadays, kachchukko is made on the basis of fish broth, red wine and tomato paste with the addition of various types of seafood (shrimp, lobster, squid, mussels, cuttlefish, octopus) and fish (mullet, perch, dorado, shark, sea devil, eel, etc.).
What to serve with cacciucco
The soup is always served with freshly fried bread grated with garlic. It is placed on the bottom of the plate and the cacciucco is poured on top. Or another variant is used: bread is served separately, cooked fish and seafood separately, and broth separately.
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An interesting fact: it is believed that a real cacciucco should have as many varieties of fish as you like. The more the better. But not less than the number of letters “c” in the name of the soup (cacciucco) – 5.
Ingredients for cacciucco:
- 1 kg of seafood mixture (squid, mussels, a few cloves of garlic, shrimp)
- 1 kg of fresh sea fish (mullet, perch and dorado)
- 150 ml of red dry wine
- 300 g of fresh tomato paste or tomatoes in their own juice
- 1 onion or leek (white part)
- 1 carrot
- several cloves of garlic
- celery stalks
- parsley
- bay leaf
- 1 red hot pepper
- bread
- salt
- freshly ground black pepper
- olive oil
How to cook cacciucco. Step by step recipe:
- Clean the fish from the scales and remove the gills. Cut the fish into fillets, and slice the large ones.
- Pour the bones and heads with water, bring to a boil and cook for 30-40 minutes over low heat.
- Separate the meat from the bones and rub it through a sieve, then strain the broth. As a result, we should have about 2 liters of fish broth.
- Wash, peel and chop seafood, if necessary.
- Heat olive oil in a saucepan and fry finely chopped onions, garlic, carrots, red hot peppers, and celery stalks for 3-5 minutes.
- Add seafood to the saucepan and simmer for 5-7 minutes.
- Add tomatoes in their own juice or tomato paste and red wine. Simmer for 10-12 minutes.
- Combine the fish broth for cacciucco with the contents of the saucepan and bring to a boil.
- Put the fish in a saucepan, season with salt and pepper, add a bay leaf, and cook for 15 minutes over low heat.
- Fry the bread until crispy and rub it with garlic.
- Put a slice of bread on the bottom of a deep plate and pour hot soup over it.
- Sprinkle with parsley and enjoy the taste. The fish soup caccucco is ready!