Recipe for Elba style Cacciucco

The cacciucco is a fish soup that is said to have been created by fishermen using what was left over from the day's catch. It was therefore mainly made with “poor” fish, varied in type and quantity depending on the season and the availability of fish.

The most famous recipe, the Livornese one, is not much different from the island version. In Livorno, it is said that to make cacciucco, at least five types of fish are necessary, as many as the "c"s in cacciucco (for this reason, it should never be called “caciucco”).

The Elban cacciucco is poorer than the Livornese version, from which moray eel, scorpion fish, and eel have been removed.

Far from being a “heavy” fish soup, this recipe requires many precautions in its preparation: for example, the octopuses should be cooked separately with the cuttlefish, while the mussels should be added at the last minute, because nothing is more unpleasant than overcooked and disintegrated mussels.

Although the fish for cacciucco are of different types, they blend together into a mix of flavors and aromas that unmistakably evoke the smell of the sea and have a very appetizing taste.

Curiosity: In the episode of 4 Ristoranti dedicated to the Island of Elba, the Cacciucco was the dish awarded the special bonus of five points that Alessandro Borghese assigns at the end of each episode to reward the best traditional dish!

Difficulty: difficult
Cost: medium
Serves: 6/8 people
Preparation time: 45 minutes
Cooking time: 2 hours
Pairing with Elban wines: Elba Rosso Riserva D.O.C.

Ingredients

For the fish stock: 500 g of rocky fish (for soup), olive oil, 1 medium onion, 1 carrot, 1 celery stalk, 1 glass of dry white wine, 4 or 5 cloves, 2 bay leaves, salt, and chili to taste.

For the soup: 300 g of cuttlefish, 500 g of octopus, 1 kg of fish for soup (dogfish, scorpion fish, grouper, moray eel, scorpion fish, seabass, mussels, and others depending on availability), 12 crabs, 1 onion, 6 garlic cloves, 3 or 4 sage leaves, 1 glass of dry white wine, tomato paste, a handful of chopped parsley, salt, chili, and oil.

Preparation

To prepare the stock, place a pot on the stove with oil, onion, carrot, and celery and sauté well. Add the fish for soup and the fish scraps that will be used for the soup. Deglaze with the white wine and allow it to evaporate. Cover with plenty of cold water. Season with salt, chili, cloves, and bay leaves.

Let it cook slowly for a good half hour. After this time, pass it through a fine sieve and let it cool.

Preparing the cacciucco: Cut the cuttlefish and octopus into large pieces and the other fish into small slices or chunks.

In a large pot, sauté the aromatic base of onion, garlic, chili, and sage in oil, all finely chopped.

Add the cuttlefish, octopus, and shellfish to prepare the base. Sauté them well for a few minutes, until the octopus turns a nice violet color. Deglaze with the white wine, let it evaporate, and add the diluted tomato paste with a little warm water (preferable over fresh tomatoes because it does not overly sweeten the soup).

Let it cook for about fifteen minutes, gradually adding the prepared stock and starting to add the other fish according to their cooking time.

Let it simmer on moderate heat, continuing to add the fish stock. Near the end of cooking, add the mussels. Adjust the seasoning, which should be slightly spicy.

The soup is done when the oil from the bottom starts to rise to the surface.

Note not to exceed the cooking time, as it would flatten the flavors.

Serve with toasted and lightly garlicked bread slices and garnish with a sprinkle of fresh chopped parsley.

Photo credit: Gabila Gerardi - Blog Panedolcealcioccolato
Header photo: SBS Food