Brodetto is the traditional fish stew of Riviera Romagnola, what the fishing families would prepare from the fish they were unable to sell -- fish that were small or bony, and didn't have much market value. But they are tasty, and while the women prepared it at home, the men cooked it on the boats. To serve 6:
Prep Time: 30 minutes
Cook Time: 45 minutes
Ingredients:
- 3 pounds (1 1/2 k) mixed fish (kinds discussed below)
- 1/2 cup (125 ml) tomato sauce
- 1/3 cup strong vinegar
- Abundant parsley
- 3 onions
- 1 cup extravirgin olive oil
- 5 cloves garlic
- Salt and pepper to taste
Preparation:
The fish should be what's locally available, fresh, and inexpensive -- no need for renowned exotics here. Rather, what is flavorful, and the fishermen use, among others, eel, sea mullet, flounder, squid, reef mullet, cuttlefish, and scorpion fish. Wash clean and scale the fish, cutting up the larger fish and leaving the smaller fish whole.Mince the parsley and the garlic, and slice the onions. Put them in a large pot, with the olive oil, set the pot over a moderate flame, and sauté, stirring occasionally, until the onion is translucent gold. Add the tomato sauce, vinegar, and 1 1/4 cups (300 ml) boiling water.
Season the mixture to taste with salt and pepper, cover the pot, and simmer for a half hour. Add the fish, the larger pieces first followed by the smaller ones, recover the pot, and simmer everything for a half hour more.
Serve the brodetto over slices of bread that you have either toasted or fried in butter.
Some observations and variations:
- Though vinegar was traditionally used to flavor brodetto, many now prefer to add dry white wine.
- In Cattolica they omit both parsley and vinegar.
- In Riccione they omit the garlic, parsley, and onions, and let the sauce cool before they add the fish and return it to the fire; they also sprinkle red wine into it.
- In Cesenatico they omit the onion, vinegar, and wine. [/l]You are free to follow local custom or not; I think I would go with all the ingredients.
