The fish soup of the portodanzesi fishermen, new brand De.C.O
The term soup is very old and has been found in texts since the 1200s: it derives from the Latin "minestrare", which means "to administer" and also "to serve". Over time, this word has taken on a somewhat worse meaning, perhaps because it is often used as a synonym for soup; but the soup is not the same.
Then the soups are liquid, have more broth and among the ingredients they include croutons. The soup is a dish of popular origin, we find it in all European restaurants that on paper call it sopa in Spanish, soupe in French, suppe in German. But with us it is tradition that each region reinvents it, depending on the food it has available. And, in this way, we transform the soup because it can be both in broth with pasta and dry.
And if in France the well-known bouillabaisse, which means "to boil over low heat", is a stewed fish soup - made up of at least four types of fish, very particular and very tasty - in Italy this becomes "fish soup".
Among these, there is the extraordinary fish soup by Nino Graziano, a great chef from Palermo who makes it only with lobster or other shellfish. Yes, because the genius and creativity in the kitchen of our chefs does not respect the science of the recipe, but continually invents personal creations that are not always exciting for the expectations of taste and pleasure for the palate: but when they get it right ..., then , we shout for pleasure and there is no bouillabaisse that holds: like Romulus's soup at the Port of Anzio.
Seeing it on the plate does not make a good impression, due to the color and compactness of the thick broth, but for the taste it recalls the famous and traditional "soupe de poisson" tested at the Merè Besson in Cannes, restaurant with traditional Provencal cuisine, place " cult ”for gourmets and gastronomic reference point for stars during the Cannes Film Festival.
If you come to Anzio at least once, to eat in one of the many famous restaurants, you will surely taste our famous Portodanzese fish soup. Do not confuse it with a fish soup, they are two different preparations. This is how the fishermen prepared it, either when they were at sea, or when they returned home after fishing. Here you will not find fine fish, they are all small but tasty soup fish, they are also called "second choice fish" or "mazzama". Of course, it's not about quality and freshness, it's just about size: fishmongers and restaurants usually discard them in favor of shellfish and noble fish.
The "mixed" fish and pasta soup is an unrivaled and superb creation made with fish unknown to the usual buyer, such as gardonie, manfroni, coccetti, tracine, sgavaioni, perchie, and then fraolini, saraghi, small-sized marmore. These small fish form a rich and tasty soup base, which has nothing to envy to the most famous soups.
This recipe does not have the exact doses, it is told verbally. And for those who want to try at making it, here is his recipe.
Fish soup and mixed pasta recipe:
Ingredients for 4 people:
1.5 kg of small soup fish
2 liters of water
200 g of datterini tomatoes
3-4 tablespoons of oil
2 cloves of garlic
2-3 anchovy fillets
chili pepper
parsley
150 g of broken spaghetti
Method:
- Clean the fish, leaving the heads, put them in a large pot and cover with 3 liters of water, bring to a boil and, if desired, remove the pulp from the larger fish.
- continue to cook the rest over low heat, in the meantime prepare a base.
- fry in another pan in plenty of oil: garlic, anchovies, parsley, cherry tomatoes cut in half and chilli, then pour everything into the pan with the fish and continue to cook for another hour or a little more, until the water becomes the half.
- at this point, blend everything and pass through the chinois or vegetable mill, crushing the pulp and the bones.
- bring that concentrated broth to a boil, add salt and cook the chopped spaghetti inside.
- prepare the croutons separately.
- Serve the soup in a tureen, adding the fish pulp set aside, and setting aside the bowls with croutons of bread and chilli.
