Fish soup: the delicious recipe for the second traditional fish dish

There fish soup it’s a second dish based on mixed fish and seafood, typical of Italian coastal cuisine. In fact, each region that overlooks the sea has its own traditional recipe, whose common element is the use of fresh fish: among these it is impossible not to mention the brodetto of Fano, the brodetto of Marche, the cacciucco from Livorno, but also the classic clam chowder.

In our version, we chose the two spiny fish, in this case the gallineboth the one with white pulp, like the monkfish, but also molluscs and crustaceans, in order to obtain a rich and very tasty soup. To make it even more delicious, the cooking water from the mussels is added after flavoring the cuttlefish with sautéed extra virgin olive oil, onion and garlic.

The other fish are then added gradually: first the gurnard and the monkfish, which require the longest cooking time, and finally the prawns, shelled or not. Perfect for a Sunday lunch with the family or an evening with friends, we advise you to accompany the fish soup with croutons or slices of fresh breadlightly roasted in the oven, to collect the delicious cooking broth and give the dish a rustic and authentic touch.

You can flavor the fish soup with a pinch of Chili powder, if you like spicy flavors, and enrich it with black olives and some desalted capers. To speed up the preparation, you can ask your trusted fishmonger to clean the different fish.

Find out how to prepare it by following the step-by-step procedure and tips. Also try the gurnard stew and baby octopus stew.

How to make fish soup

Using a metal sponge, clean the shell of the mussels 1.

Remove the byssus by pulling it sideways 2. Rinse the mussels thoroughly under cold running water.

Pour extra virgin olive oil into a high-sided saucepan 3.

Add the mussels and pour the white wine 4. Stir, cover the pot with a lid and cook the mussels for about 10 minutes, until they are all open.

Once open, shell the mussels but leave a few whole to add to the fish soup 5. Filter the cooking water from the mussels and keep it aside.

Remove the head from the prawns 6.

Shell them by removing the shell but leave a few whole from which you will only remove the mustaches 7.

With a toothpick cut the back of the shrimp and remove the dark filament from the intestine 8.

Shell the monkfish 9.

Separate the pulp from the central bone ten.

Cut the monkfish into pieces 11.

With the tip of a sharp knife, cut the belly of the gurnard at the level of the side fins just below the head 12.

Extract the entrails 13.

Cut the side and dorsal fins 14.

Remove the head of the cuttlefish 15.

Remove eyes and rostrum 16.

Cut the cuttlefish 17. Rinse all clean fish thoroughly under cold running water and drain.

Pour the extra virgin olive oil into a large pan and add the finely chopped onion and the garlic clove 18.

Lightly sauté over low heat 19.

Add the cuttlefish 20.

Season the cuttlefish with the sautéed mixture for 5 minutes over low heat 21.

Pour the cooking water from the mussels 22.

To mix together 23.

Cover with the lid and cook over low heat for about 20 minutes 24.

When the cuttlefish have softened, add the chopped tomato pulp 25.

Mix with the paddle 26.

Mix gurnard and monkfish 27. Leave to cook for about 15 minutes, taking care from this moment not to stir with the spatula but to shake the pot so as not to break the fish.

Finally add the whole shrimp and the peeled ones 28.

Add the shelled mussels 29 and cook the fish soup for another 10 minutes.

The fish soup is ready 30.

At this point, add the mussels and continue cooking for another 2 minutes 31.

Serve the fish soup at the table, sprinkled with chopped fresh parsley and accompanied by slices of fresh or toasted bread 32.

storage

Fish soup should be eaten as soon as it is prepared, otherwise it can be stored in an airtight container in the fridge for about A day.