CookEat Recipe
Cacciucco with Tomato and Vinegar
Mixed fish cooked in strained tomato and vinegar juices, served separately from bread soaked in the cooking liquor.
Method
Steps
Step 1
Gather the ingredients: 700 g cleaned mixed fish suitable for stewing, such as sole and red mullet, with small fish left whole and large fish cut into pieces; 1/2 medium onion, finely chopped; 2 whole garlic cloves; 1 tablespoon finely chopped parsley; 3 tablespoons olive oil: 2 for the sauce and 1 for finishing; 300 g ripe tomatoes, chopped; About 30 ml wine vinegar, using a little more only if the vinegar is mild; 250 ml water; Salt and black pepper; 4 thick slices plain bread, about 1.5 cm thick.
Step 2
Have the fish cleaned, scaled and gutted as appropriate by the fishmonger. Leave small fish whole and cut larger fish into serving pieces. Keep refrigerated at 4°C or colder until the sauce is ready, and keep raw fish and its juices away from other foods.
Step 3
Warm 2 tablespoons olive oil in a saucepan. Add the finely chopped onion, parsley and whole garlic and cook until the onion begins to colour, about 6–8 minutes. Add the chopped tomatoes, salt and pepper and cook for about 10–15 minutes until softened.
Step 4
Mix the vinegar with the measured water and add to the tomatoes. Boil gently for about 5 minutes. Remove and discard the garlic, then press the remaining sauce through a sieve, discarding tough skins and fibres.
Step 5
Return the strained sauce to a wide pan and bring to a simmer. Add the prepared fish, putting thicker pieces in first. Cook for about 8–12 minutes, adjusting for the size and thickness, until every piece reaches at least 70°C. Move the pan gently rather than breaking the fish with vigorous stirring. Add the reserved tablespoon olive oil and adjust the seasoning.
Step 6
While the fish cooks, dry the bread slices in a low oven at about 120°C for 8–12 minutes, without browning or toasting them hard. Lift the cooked fish onto one warm serving platter. Put as many bread slices as the remaining sauce can moisten into a second dish and pour the hot cooking liquor over them. Serve the fish and soaked bread in these separate dishes.
Step 7
For a mixture including mantis shrimp, replace up to 200 g of the fish with the same cleaned weight of food-grade mantis shrimp. Add them according to their size and cook the crustacean flesh to at least 74°C; fish pieces still need at least 70°C. Keep the total seafood near 700 g and use the same sauce and separate-bread service.
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