Cacciucco (Tuscan fish stew)

1 HOUR | SERVES 6 | EASY |

I have always thought it strange that Britain doesn’t have a culinary history of fish stew since we are surrounded by water. Up and down the length of Italy are varying recipes for fish in sauce, usually made with broken, oddly shaped or left-over fish and shellfish from the fishmonger’s stall, but always with plenty of flavour. Stufato di pesce, or fish stew, is made both with and without tomatoes, some with saffron, others with pine nuts and mushrooms, some with pasta, others in a simple broth. Cacciucco is a fish stew from Livorno, a port on the coast of Tuscany, and it should contain five types of seafood.

LC

extra-virgin olive oil 6 tbsp

red onion 1 small, finely chopped

garlic 2 cloves, peeled but left whole and lightly crushed

squid 4 small, cleaned and chopped into bite-sized pieces

white wine 200ml

plum tomatoes 400g tin gurnard or hake 300g skinless, boneless fillet, cleaned and cut into bite-sized pieces

clams 300g, cleaned

mussels 300g, cleaned king or tiger prawns 12, shells on

fish stock 500ml

crusty white bread sliced and toasted or sourdough thickly

• Heat the oil in a large, deep, lidded frying pan. Fry the onion for 5-7 minutes or until softened. Add the garlic and some seasoning, and fry for a couple of minutes. Add the squid, put the lid on the pan and cook for a few minutes, shaking the pan frequently. Remove the lid and add the wine – leaving the lid off let the wine reduce for a couple of minutes. Add the tomatoes, bash them with a wooden spoon to break them up a bit (they will also break down during cooking) and cook for 20 minutes. Add the gurnard, clams, mussels, prawns and stock, and bring to the boil.

• Reduce the heat and simmer, uncovered, for 10 minutes. At this point discard any closed clams and mussels. Taste to adjust the seasoning, then serve in warm bowls, garnished with parsley and accompanied by crusty bread. Some Livornese put the bread at the bottom of a soup bowl and ladle the soup on top of it to become soaked in the glorious juices!

PER SERVING 268 KCALS | FAT 13.6G SATURATES 2.1G | CARBS 5.4G | SUGARS 4.4G FIBRE 1.3G | PROTEIN 25.1G | SALT 1.2G

Lina Stores is an stalwart of the Italian food scene in London – the original deli on Greek Street has been providing Italian goods to Londoners for 75 years. Now it has three restaurants in London celebrating simple and traditional menus with a focus on fresh pasta, as well as plenty of antipasti from its celebrated deli. This recipe comes from head chef Masha Rener – you’ll need a pasta machine to make it (linastores.co.uk).

Knead for 10 minutes until smooth and elastic. Wrap and let the dough sit in a cool, dry space for 30 minutes before using.

• Use a pasta machine to roll the dough until 0.7mm thick (approximately the 2nd setting on a pasta machine) or cut the dough in half and roll each into long rectangles of the same thickness. Cut it into 12 equal squares (about 10cm each). Put 2 tbsp of burrata in the middle of each square and fold it over on itself into a triangle. Push the ends and edges together so they are fully sealed. Put onto a baking tray dusted with flour.

• For the sauce, pulse the tomatoes in a food processor until roughly chopped. Pour through a fine sieve, catching the juices in a bowl. Heat 100ml of olive oil in a large pan and add 1 tbsp of plain flour. Cook for 3-4 minutes without colouring, then add the tomato juice and cook until it thickens. Remove from the heat and cool.

• Add the tomato pieces from the strainer to the sauce, add salt to taste and the chopped basil leaves. Mix.

• Boil the pasta in salted water for 2 minutes. Use a slotted spoon to scoop into the same pan as the sauce and mix in carefully.

Top with some parmesan, divide the pasta squares equally between four plates and sprinkle over the toasted pine nuts.